Violence against doctors a non-bailable offence
Fulfilling the long time demand of the serving doctors in Himachal Pradesh, the State government on Thursday introduced an amendment bill in the Assembly concerning the safety and security of the doctors and making any kind of violence against them a non-bailable offence.
State Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur presented the Himachal Pradesh Medicare service persons and Medicare service institutions (prevention of violence and damage to property) amendment bill 2017. This will be an amendment to the 2009 Medicare Act.
Jail term
The amended bill has made any offence against the doctors cognizable and non-bailable with a provision for upto three years imprisonment. Section 4 of the 2009 Act had a provision to define any offence as cognizable but bailable. The Himachal Medical Officers Association had been demanding for a long time that the Act be amended and the offence be made non-bailable in view of incidences of violence against the doctors on duty.