Vasectomy failure: MP High Court orders compensation for man under family planning indemnity scheme

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Shyamlal Parmar v State of MP & Ors Writ petition No. 144/2017 The petition explained that the petitioner, Shyamlal, after having two children, sought a vasectomy which was conducted in CHC Kala Pipal in Shajapur district in Madhya Pradesh. However, after the procedure, he was not counselled about the procedure, post-surgery care, chances of failure of sterilisation or family planning indemnity scheme (FPIS). He was also made to sign a form written in English, which he could not read, and he was not offered a translation. Eight months after the procedure, he found that his wife had become pregnant again. She delivered the child on March 10, 2012. After this, he sent a representation of failure of sterilization to CMO and district collector and also intimated the block medical officer seeking to avail benefits under FPIS. He also filled out the form seeking compensation and approached the administration several times but could not avail his claim. SLIC Indore filed a writ petition in the Madhya Pradesh high court on the behalf of Shyamlal. It noted that the failure of the sterilisation was in violation of the Shyamlal’s fundamental right to life, to health, to equality, and to dignity, since the state had failed to ensure adequate access to quality family planning services. The petition prayed for the payment of Rs 30,000 that Shyamlal was entitled to after the failure of the sterilization procedure according to Section N of the FPIS. It also sought an order mandating that hospital staff offer pre-operation counselling, including information on the family planning indemnity scheme, in Hindi, and all medical options in case of complications, failures or injuries resulting from sterilization procedures. It also sought an order for creating a fast-track, expedited procedure for all current pending FPIS applications. In response, the court directed the Chief Medical and Health Officer, Shajapur to pay a sum of Rs 30,000 to Shyamlal within a period of 60 days.

Attachments

    https://slic.org.in/uploads/2018/04/WP_144_2017_Order_03-Jan-2018-Final-Order-Shyamlal-vesectiomy.pdf