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Kewla Devi had consulted Atri for pain in her abdomen. Atri diagnosed a tumour in her uterus and advised her to undergo a surgery.
On April 6, 1996, Kewla was admitted to Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital for the operation, which took place on April 8. Kewla was discharged on April 25 and three days later, her stitches were removed. However, after the operation, Kewla started suffering from fever, pain, vomiting and indigestion. She informed Atri of her complications but he failed to find anything wrong with her.
Meanwhile, Atri’s wife Prabha, also is a doctor, advised Kewla to undergo an ultrasonography. But Atri maintained that there was no need for the same. On September 11, while Atri was on a foreign trip, Kewla underwent ultrasonography test on Prabha’s suggestion. The test revealed the presence of a foreign object measuring 74x91mm inside her abdomen. Kewla then visited several doctors and finally on September 24, H S Shukla, a senior BHU surgeon, operated upon her and removed the swab, which had also damaged her intestines.
She moved a district forum in Allahabad, which, in a judgment, said, “Since it was not a service hired or availed of by the complainant, and the operation was done in a government hospital free of cost, the complaint was not maintainable”. Later, putting aside the district forum’s judgment, the State Consumer Commission asked Atri to pay Kewla Rs 6 lakh as compensation.
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