Medical scenario in India has witnessed a sea change from the days where persons would approach family doctors & general physicians as a point of first contact in case of ill health. Its the branded hospitals & innumerable clinics where a person has to be taken nowadays for even a routine check up.
Given this, a new trend is evolving where no general physician is willing to issue a death certificate for a person who has died of natural causes at home. If the person is rushed to a hospital or clinic, death certificate is refused on the grounds that the person has been brought dead! There is no alternative left but to file a police case and handover the body for autopsy! Imagine the trauma & mental torture the family has to go through due to this!!!
How can a doctor refuse to issue a death certificate if a person has died of natural causes? Should the doctor not mandatorily give in writing his reasons for refusal to issue a death certificate? Can the doctor be sued subsequently if the autopsy report reveals natural cause of death?
Does the Constitution of India not entitle a person not to agree to an autopsy? What are the guidelines laid down by the All India Medical Council for doctors in this regard?
Need expert advice on this matter in terms of any Supreme Court or High Court citations laying down the law in this matter. What are the statutes that come into play in this matter?
