Bilaspur High Court grants bail to accused doctor in Chhattisgarh sterilisation tragedy

The Bilaspur High Court on Thursday granted bail to Dr RK Gupta, an accused in the Chhattisgarh sterilisation surgery case in which 12 women lost their life in the district last month. Justice Sanjay K Agrawal granted bail to Dr Gupta on a bond of Rs 50,000, said his lawyer Kanak Tiwari.

Tiwari contended before the court that post-mortem reports of the victims who were operated upon at Pendari sterilisation camp in the district and laboratory reports had revealed that contaminated medicines caused the deaths and not the doctor's negligence. He also argued that as per the Supreme Court, doctors cannot be arrested in the cases of medical negligence before a proper probe is conducted.

Dr Gupta has been charged by the police with culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The district court had refused him bail.