The Supreme Court today said that a Kolkata-based hospital, which was directed last year to pay the highest compensation award of Rs.11.41 crore including interest in a medical negligence case, cannot deduct TDS from the interest portion of the payable amount.
A bench comprising justices C K Prasad and V Gopala Gowda did not allow the AMRI Hospital to deduct income tax of Rs 1.06 crore from the interest amount of compensation awarded for the death of US-based child psychologist, Anuradha Saha.
The court was told that last week that AMRI hospital had paid interest after deducting Rs 1.06 crore as income tax.
It had on last hearing on May 5 noted that the Hospital had not paid interest, as directed by its judgement on October 24, 2013 and had made it clear that no extension for the payment would be made after June 30.
During the day's proceedings, the hospital handed over the the cheque of over Rs 1.06 crore to the victim's husband, Kunal Saha, a US-based doctor, who had filed the contempt petition against the hospital.
On October 24, last year, the apex court had asked the hospital and three doctors to pay over Rs 11.41 crore, including interest, to Kunal who lost his 29-year-old wife during their visit to India 15 years ago.
The bench had arrived at a figure of Rs 6.08 crore compensation.
The court had provided the break-up of compensation amount under different heads and said it will be paid along with the interest at the rate of six per cent from the date of filing of the complaint before National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) on March 9, 1999 to the date of payment.
The compensation computed along with simple interest of six per cent till October 24, 2013 worked out to over Rs 11.41 crore. NCDRC had awarded Rs 1.73 crore compensation to Kunal in 2011.
Kunal Saha's wife Anuradha had come to her home town Kolkata in March 1998 on a summer vacation. She had complained of skin rashes on April 25 and died there on May 28, 1998.
