Cleared/390 Words
The court said this after taking a serious view over inconsistencies in the evidence of a doctor in a Pocso case involving sexual assault on a minor boy. Madurai : Madras high court on Wednesday directed the health secretary and the director of medical education and research to issue a circular/ guidelines that shall comprehensively deal with duties and responsibilities of government medical professionals while acting as expert witnesses before courts.
Therefore, medical professionals who appear before courts as expert witnesses must exercise a high degree of care while giving evidence. The judge observed that medical professionals must, therefore, recognise that their professional responsibilities do not end with the treatment of patients or the performance of medical procedures. It is, therefore, imperative that every medical professional entrusted with this responsibility discharges it with the highest standards of competence, objectivity and professional integrity,” the judge observed.
Justice B Pugalendhi observed that an expert witness occupies a position of trust. Even an inadvertent lapse by the expert while testifying creates avoidable confusion, prolong judicial proceedings and also affects the rights of either the victim or the accused. The duty to assist the court is an integral part of their professional obligations. Such assistance is not a matter of discretion or favour, but a statutory and professional duty. The criminal justice system functions on the basis that expert witnesses discharge their responsibility with due care and diligence and that their testimony faithfully reflects the findings recorded by them. The judge observed that the guidelines should focus on the necessity of preparing the revised proforma for medico-legal examination of survivors/ victims of sexual violence issued by the ministry of health and family welfare, in cases involving sexual violence, including cases under the Pocso Act . “The directions are intended to strengthen the quality of medical evidence provided before courts, reinforce the confidence reposed by courts in expert witnesses and minimise the possibility of recurrence of situations such as the one encountered in the present case.
The privilege of assisting the court carries with it a corresponding responsibility to provide objective, accurate and consistent testimony before the court. Equally important is the duty to carefully read and verify the deposition before affixing their signature so as to ensure that it correctly records the evidence actually tendered before the court.