Putting the Horse Before the Court

First, do no harm? No, no. First, type the form.

In many cases, the casual approach of most of the doctors while writing the postmortem report is affecting the comprehension medico-legal documents badly and the judicial system finds it very difficult to read those letters and come to a definite conclusion.

…

Moreover, the tendency of writing such zig zag handwriting, which cannot be read by any common man or by judicial officers, has become a fashion among the doctors of the State.

JUSTICE S.K. PANIGRAHI, Odisha High Court, in Rasa @ Rasananda Bhoi v. State of Odisha & Ors., 4-Jan-2024¹

In the learned opinion of Judge Panigrahi, our doctors are too casual. They don’t care about the blind Lady Justice not being able to decipher their hurried writing.

Such irresponsible doctors, I guess. Can’t even be bothered to take some time from their 100-hour workweeks to write properly. But wait, surely the Court isn’t unaware of what an average medico faces?

Quite so. The Court takes 2 whole lines in a document of 4 pages to show awareness of long duty hours are taxing and appreciate services rendered during COVID-19. The very next line in the order, however, continues with (emphasis added):

… doctors, who are dealing with medico-legal issues and writing casually with very poor handwriting, are required to change their attitude… so that the judicial system does not suffer from unnecessary fatigue in reading their handwriting

Apparently the Addl. Standing Counsel was not successful in making a case for the hardships faced by the State’s doctors. The Court, therefore, has directed the Chief Secretary to the Government of Odisha, the state’s top bureaucrat, to further direct all doctors of the State to write legibly.

Next month will mark the third year of first reported COVID-19 cases in India. It was the first time many learnt about inadequacies of our public health infrastructure. It wasn’t the first time for the patients nor for their healers.

Everyday, news and reports abound with the troubles healthcare professionals face in India. Perhaps doctors should take note of the documentation practices of the Judge’s own profession, famous for both their rigid drafting norms and their high pendency rates.

Sorry, your kidneys can wait. First, get me a notarized paper, in Times New Roman font, size 12, double-line spacing and a WIDE page margin.

References:

1. Original file is a bit tricky to reference. You can access it like so:
   • Go to ecourts webpage to search by case number
   • Under 'Case Type', select 'WP(C) -WP(C)-Writ Petition under Art.226 and 227.'
   • Under 'Case Number', enter '38461'
   • Under 'Year', enter '2023'
   • Fill in the captcha
   • View Order Number 3 dated 4-Jan-2024
   • Alternately, access pdf accessed by livelaw.in here / or by us here (just mirroring the same file)