Karnataka High Court asks for affidavit from doctor who gave certificate different from his colleague

Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court has directed the state government to secure the affidavit of a doctor at the District hospital at Chigateri, Davanagere in relation to the second wound certificate issued to a complainant in a case of assault. Justice M Nagaprasanna has also stayed the proceedings against six advocates from Davanagere - H V Ramadas, G S Raja Rao, G R Siddappa, A C Raghavendra, L H Pradeep and G K Basavaraja.

The complainant in the case is Manjunath, a resident of Bhadravati in Shivamogga. According to the petitioner advocates, Manjunath had several disputes and in a couple of cases, pertaining to the matrimonial dispute, advocate Ramadas and his office appeared on behalf of the wife. In 2023, Manjunath registered a criminal case alleging that the advocates had assaulted him. The police also filed the charge sheet for offences under IPC sections 320, 323 and 325.

The petitioners claimed that Manjunath was targeting them since they had appeared for his wife. The court noted that the foundation for filing the charge sheet for assault is the injuries suffered by the complainant. The petitioner was examined at a hospital in Bhadravathi on the day of the incident and a certificate was issued which depicted no external injuries. Not satisfied with the certificate filed by the doctor at the General Hospital, Bhadravathi, Manjunath travelled to Davanagere and got a second wound certificate from a government doctor at the Chigateri District Hospital, Davanagere.

“Surprisingly, within 12 hours of the examination, the picture of the wound is completely different. Now, the wound certificate, the second in line, depicts several bruises and injuries on the body of the complainant,” Justice Nagaprasanna observed.

The court observed that prima facie, the very registration of the crime is a camouflage and it is registered solely on the reason that the petitioners have defended the wife against the husband.

“The first wound certificate is secured on April 13, 2023 and the second one is obtained on May 22, 2023. It thus becomes necessary for the doctor of Chigateri District Hospital, Davanagere, who treated the petitioner and issued a certificate on May 22, 2023, for having treated him on April 14, 2023, to file an affidavit in detail, narrating as to the treatment that was given to the complainant and as to the reason why his opinion differed with the earlier wound certificate, which depicts no external injuries and the next, showing plethora of injuries. The State shall secure the affidavit of the said doctor by the next date of hearing,” the court said.

The next hearing has been posted to January 24, 2025.