Write in capital letters: Orissa high court to doctors

CUTTACK: Orissa high court has asked the chief secretary to issue a direction instructing doctors across the state to write postmortem reports and prescription in capital letters or in legible handwriting.

The HC issued the direction on January 4 after coming across a postmortem report, which was not legible and the doctor had to be summoned to explain it. The report was in a snakebite death case. The victim's father had filed a petition seeking the court's intervention after his plea for compensation was rejected by the tehsildar.

While issuing the direction, the single judge bench of Justice S K Panigrahi said, "In many cases, the casual approach of most of the doctors while writing the postmortem report is affecting the comprehension of medico-legal documents. The judicial system finds it very difficult to read those letters and come to a definite conclusion. In such view of the matter, the chief secretary of the state is instructed to issue a circular to all the medical centres, private clinics and medical colleges and hospitals, directing them to write in proper handwriting or in a typed form when they are prescribing medicine or writing some medico-legal reports."

After the doctor appeared in court , HC disposed of the petition with a direction to the petitioner to file a fresh representation before the tehsildar within one month. The judge asked the authorities to consider and dispose of the representation in accordance with law.