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A Maharashtra government circular has directed all doctors to issue only typed postmortem reports instead of the hand-written ones.
Peeved by the illegible handwriting of doctors especially in medico-legal reports (MLRs) including clinical, forensic and postmortem reports, Dr Indrajit Khandekar had filed a PIL in January 2013 in the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court praying for computerisation of all MLRs and its generation through forensic medical software.
The PIL was based on his detailed study report, which was earlier submitted to the state government.
Khandekar, an associate professor at Sewagram's Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (MGIMS), found that illegible handwriting of medicos in forensic reports often resulted in several problems during dispensation of justice in courts and criminal justice system was adversely affected.
Citing a notice issued by the High Court, the recently issued circular by the state public health department said it should be seriously noted by all concerned that henceforth, no handwritten postmortem report should be issued, in any circumstances.
The responsibility of its proper implementation has been fixed on civil surgeons, district health officers and in-charges of hospitals.
The PIL had pointed out that illegible handwriting caused tremendous problems in day-to-day functioning of the courts and was one of the impediments in meeting the ends of justice. It led to wastage of valuable time of judiciary during the trial of cases.
The PIL also submitted that the MLRs prepared by doctors in sexual assault cases, injuries in cases of assault and other such cases played a major role in meeting the ends of justice.
