India’s Supreme Court held on May 4 that medical negligence proceedings do not automatically end when a doctor dies, clarifying that legal heirs may be impleaded while any compensation liability is limited to the deceased physician’s estate.
In Kumud Lall v. Suresh Chandra Roy, a bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Atul S. Chandurkar examined whether consumer-forum claims survive against the legal representatives of Dr. Kumud Lall, who died in 2009 while a revision petition was pending.
The court rejected a blanket application of the maxim that personal actions die with the person, distinguishing proprietary claims involving pecuniary loss from purely personal torts. Heirs cannot be held personally liable beyond inherited assets, the bench emphasized.
The matter was remitted to the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission for adjudication on merits. The ruling did not determine whether negligence occurred, only that the case could proceed against the doctor’s estate.
The consumer complaint alleged negligence in treatment provided at a private clinic. Dr. Lall died in 2009 before any commission issued a final compensation order, prompting his legal heirs to argue the proceedings had abated. The Supreme Court applied Section 306 of the Indian Succession Act and Order XXII of the Civil Procedure Code in reaching its conclusion.
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Sources:
https://indialegallive.com/