The document provides guidance on legal and ethical dos and don'ts for doctors. It advises doctors to cooperate with police investigations, obtain informed consent, preserve documentation, follow legal procedures, and consult lawyers when needed. It warns against manipulating documents, unlawful acts, issuing false certificates, or neglecting treatment. Sections of the Indian Penal Code that relate to medical practice are outlined, including those dealing with negligent harm or death, causing miscarriage or grievous hurt through negligence. Guidance is given around registering negligence cases under the appropriate sections to avoid undue hardship for doctors.

1. Do’s and Don’ts
• Inform police whenever necessary.
• Extend all possible co-operation to the police.
• Furnish copies of medical records to police, court or relatives whenever
demanded. Consent of patient may be taken while providing information
to police.
• Follow the legal procedures or provisions.
• Have a valid informed consent for the treatment(10).
• Preserve the documents, records specially in medico-legal,
controversial or complicated cases.
• Insist for post-mortem examination if the cause of death can’t be
ascertained.
• Involve medical associations, medico-legal cells, voluntary
organizations whenever legal problem arises.
• Consult your lawyer before giving any reply.
• Don’t become panicky.
• Don't manipulate or tamper with the documents.
• Don’t do unlawful or unethical acts.
• Don’t issue false or bogus certificates. Certificate was issued on request
is no defense.
• Don’t neglect the treatment while completing legal formalities specially
in serious or emergency situation.

2. Criminal law is applicable to all individuals and
doctors are no exception to it. As far as medical
practice is concerned patients or relatives
usually don’t approach the police. But now-a-
days this scenario is also changing. In last few
decades as doctor patient relationship has
deteriorated, the complaints against doctors
have increased(1). According to the provisions
of Indian Penal Code 1860 (IPC) any act of
commission or omission is not a crime unless it
is accompanied by a guilty mind

3. The following Sections of IPC are related to medical profession
Sec. 29 Deals with documents
Sec. 52 Describes "good faith"
Sec. 90 Related to consent
Sec. 176 Failure to inform police whenever essential
Sec. 269-271 Related to spread of infectious disease and disobedience of
a quarantine rule.
Sec. 272-273 Related to adulteration of food and drinks.
Sec. 274-276 Related to adulteration of drugs.
Sec. 304-A Deals with death caused by an negligent act.
Sec. 306-309 Related with abetement of suicide.
Sec. 312-314 Related to causing mis-carriage, abortion and hiding such
facts.
Sec. 315-316 Deals with act to prevent child being born alive or to cause it
to die after birth.
Sec. 319-322 Related to causing hurt, grievous hurt, loss of vision, loss of
hearing or disfigure-ment.
Sec. 336-338 Deals with causing hurt by rash or negligent act.
Sec. 340-342 Related to wrongful confine-ment.
Sec. 491 Related to breech of contract.
Sec. 499 Related to defamation.

4. Section 304 and 304-A
There is lot of discrepancy while applying these sections in cases
of professional negligence by doctors. Most of the times the police
authorities register the cases of professional negligence deaths
under Sec. 304 of IPC. According to this Section the offence is
non-bailable. This causes lot of hardship, bad reputation and
mental agony to the doctors. In fact the police should register the
cases of deaths due to medical negligence under Sec. 304-A of
IPC, in which the offence is bailable and the doctor can be
released on bail. This judgement has been passed by Bombay
High Court in Criminal Revision application no. 282 of 1996 dated
28th November 1998(3). The basic difference is that in Sec. 304
there is intentional act of negligence while in 304-A the act is
never done with the intention to cause death.

5. Grievous hurt
Sec. 319-322 of IPC are related to causing grievous
hurt for example loss of limbs, loss of vision, loss of
hearing or disfigurement etc. Sec. 336-338 deal with
causing grievous hurt by rash or negligent act.
Examples: (1) While giving IV fluids suppose there is
leakage of fluid in surrounding tissue resulting in
spasm of vessels and subsequent necrosis of limbs.
(2) A surgical procedure is done on eye, limbs, face
etc. without adequate aseptic precautions resulting
in local infection. This may lead to loss of eyes, limb
or disfigurement of face, (3) An unqualified doctor
performing surgical procedure which results in
permanent damage to eyes, limbs, hearing etc.