A number of protesters who were injured during the weekend protests and subsequent detentions by the Delhi Police were left with swollen fingers, bruised bodies, and bleeding necks and heads, but say that when the police took them to hospital for treatment, they were denied copies of their medico-legal case (MLC) details and their patient summaries.
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The denial of medical records to injured protesters can have serious consequences, as seen in the case of those hit by pellet guns in the July 20 protest. The Hindu has reported that hospital records had confirmed pellet gun usage, even as the Delhi police denied it.
Hospitals usually make three copies of the MLC, of which two are given to the police, and one is kept in the hospital. The hospital is supposed to share a case summary with the patient, who can also ask the police for a copy of the MLC. However, lawyers say that due to grey areas in the law, a patient has to run from the hospital to the police to get access to their MLCs and case summaries.
Hospitals under pressure
A doctor at one of the hospitals which treated protesters said, on the condition of anonymity, “The usual protocol is that an MLC is registered and copies are provided to the police. The patient can ask the police for the MLC [copy]. We usually give the patients a case summary highlighting the injuries.” A source at one of the hospitals that denied records to patients said that they are pressured not to share any information during protests.
A protester injured on October 10.
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