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Orissa High Court Awards Rs 20 Lakh to Widow Over Custodial Medical Negligence

The ruling frames prison healthcare failures as a breach of prisoners’ Article 21 right to health.

Overview

  • Justice Biraja Prasanna Satapathy held jail authorities negligent for failing to provide proper treatment to a known chronic diabetic undertrial.
  • The court directed the Odisha Home Secretary to release Rs 20 lakh to petitioner Sabita Nishank within six weeks.
  • Records show the prisoner was shifted to Puri District Hospital and then SCB Medical College on January 25, 2017, and died the next day during treatment.
  • The widow had sought Rs 50 lakh, with the court fixing compensation at Rs 20 lakh after weighing the deceased’s earnings and her future needs.
  • The state’s claim that adequate care was provided was rejected, with the court stressing that timely intervention could have prevented the death.