Skip to content

Martin D'Souza Safeguard

Definition

The procedural protection from Martin D'Souza v. Mohd. Ishfaq (2009) 3 SCC 1 requiring that before registering a criminal case against a doctor under IPC § 304A (now BNS § 106), the investigating officer must obtain a prima facie opinion from a competent medical authority or medical board. Failure to do so renders the registration an abuse of process.

Related terms

BNS § 106
Section 106 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, reproducing the substance of IPC § 304A (causing death by negligence). Sub-section (1) applies...
Bolam Test
The UK standard for medical negligence from Bolam v. Friern Hospital Management Committee (1957) 1 WLR 582: a doctor is not negligent...
Bolitho Qualification
The qualification to Bolam from Bolitho v. City and Hackney HA (1997) 4 All ER 771: the responsible body of medical opinion...
Helling V. Carey (1974)
Washington Supreme Court case in which ophthalmologist Thomas Carey was held negligent for not performing tonometry on a patient under 40, despite...
Jacob Mathew Test
The framework from Jacob Mathew v. State of Punjab (2005) 6 SCC 1 for criminal medical negligence under IPC § 304A (now...
Montgomery V. Lanarkshire (2015)
UK Supreme Court case replacing the Bolam test on risk disclosure with a patient-centred test: a doctor must take reasonable care to...
NMC (India)
The National Medical Commission, established under the NMC Act 2019, replacing the Medical Council of India. Comprises four boards (UGMEB, PGMEB, ARB,...

Explained in

  • Medical Negligence and the Duty of CareThe procedural protection from Martin D'Souza v. Mohd. Ishfaq (2009) 3 SCC 1 requiring that before registering a criminal case against a doctor under IPC § 304...

Your journey to becoming a forensic professional starts here.

Practice with mock tests, learn from structured notes, and get your questions answered by a global forensic community, all in one place.