There is demand to government for leniency from the doctors.
Photo for representational purpose onlyWhile doctors are debating whether the 22-week-old infant was a 'foetus' or a 'baby' - as there are rare chances of survival in such children - MAIL TODAY spoke to few advocates who said that the act committed by the doctors handling the case of the twin babies, amounts to 'culpable homicide'.
Doctors this reporter spoke to said survival of such a small baby was unlikely.
Demanding leniency by the government, an argument has been put forward by a group of doctors that the 22-week-old baby who was declared dead prematurely by Max hospital would not have survived for long and could have contracted diseases due to infection.
According to the IPC section 299, if any part of the child comes out of the mother's womb, even if it is not fully born, and if the death is caused to such child it amounts to 'culpable homicide'.
The twins born at Max (Shalimar Bagh) were completely born and found alive. Dr Vinay Aggarwal, member of Medical Council of India said, "Generally, 22-week-old babies are termed as foetus and abortions are allowed which has now been extended up to 26 weeks. Globally, there are only 3 per cent chances of survival for fetus born in 22 weeks.
And when they are born, it could contract neurological disorder, may suffer from vision problems. There could be lot more abnormalities in the body. It was a non-viable foetus." Echoing similar views, Dr Vinay Kumar Rai, consultant Neonatology at Aakash Healthcare Hospital said that fetus is outside the mother womb in 22 weeks, it may suffer from chronic diseases with very little chances of survival. The debate comes in the light of the recent incident involving the lives of a pair of premature twins - a boy and a girl - who were declared dead by the doctors at Max Hospital.
Doctors handed over the bodies to the family members in a plastic bag. However, parents later found the boy infant alive at the burial ground. The baby was found breathing, but needed critical medical care and had to be kept in an incubator in another private hospital. The terrible incident led to the cancellation of licence of Max hospital (Shalimar Bagh) by Delhi government with immediate effect.
Speaking with MAILTODAY, Puspraj Singh Parihar, advocate at Supreme Court of India said:
"When a 'baby' is outside the mother's womb, it cannot be termed as fetus. And here, in case of Max doctors allegedly declaring a baby dead, it is totally wrong as it falls under the IPC section 299, which states that if any portion of the child comes out of the mother's womb, even if it is not fully born and if the death is caused to such child - it amounts to 'culpable homicide'.
Legal experts say that life care should have been given to the baby, even if the chances of the survival rate was minimal. KK Menon, advocate and chairman of Delhi Bar Council said section 315 and 316 of IPC say that if the act of killing is done after the birth of the child, then it is culpable homicide. "What doctors are arguing on this matter is totally wrong as preliminary evidence shows medical negligence. Doctors are not above the law."