"If a patient suffers due to the medical negligence of doctors and staff of the hospital whose services he avails against a consideration, the said institute alone is liable to compensate him," Commission President Justice J D Kapoor said.

The Commission said that the doctors have no joint liability towards the patient.

It held that patients pay to hospital for their treatment so it is only their responsibility in case of any fault or negligence of doctors.

Patients' direct relationship is with the said hospital in which his treatment is going on and not with the treating doctors, the Commission said while directing Capital-based Khosla Medical Institute and Research Society to pay Rs one lakh compensation to the husband of a patient who died due to medical negligence.

The Commission's order came on a complaint filed by Jagdish Kumar Arora whose wife, Chander Kanta, died due to negligent treatment by doctors of the hospital.

Arora, a resident of Haryana, claimed a relief of Rs 18 lakh alleging that his wife died due to alleged medical negligence by the doctors of the institute.

Chander Kanta was admitted in the institute on November 27, 1997 for treatment. Her condition, which was initially looking stable, deteriorated after she developed a fungal infection. The doctors then asked her husband to procure a medicine which was not available with the hospital following which the patient was asked to leave the institute. She was then taken to another medical institute where she breathed her last on December 23, 1997.

The Commission took strong exception to the institute's action of forcing Kanta to leave and termed it as "deficiency in service".

"Deficiency in service is that the hospital forced the patient to leave in a very precarious condition. Even if the medicine was not available at any place, they could have asked the patient to procure it where it was available," Justice Kapoor said.