The phrase "medical negligence" describes any conduct or omission on the part of a medical practitioner or institution that causes the patient to experience harm. Since a person's life may be in danger if medical personnel fail to take reasonable care, the term "medical negligence" is not defined in any of India's laws, despite how important it is.

The term "medical negligence" describes a subject that is too complex to be summed up in a single sentence. The goal of this article is to investigate medical malpractice from the standpoint of criminal law and to make the case that current regulations in this area urgently need to be strengthened to guarantee that patients have access to prompt recompense for the damage they have endured.

Introduction: Indian Perspective
In India, the issue of medical negligence has grown to be a serious concern. According to the American Medical Association, "Negligence refers to the failure to do something that a reasonable man, guided by those ordinary considerations which ordinarily regulate human affairs, would do or the failure to do something that a reasonable and prudent man would not do."

Negligent conduct is when someone violates a social standard that was established to protect the community. In terms of tort liability, the great majority of instances involving personal injury and property damage are founded on and primarily focused on negligence.

According to Wikipedia, "negligence is the failure to exercise appropriate and/or ethically ruled care that is expected to be exercised amongst specified circumstances." The dictionary's definition states that it refers to "lack of care" or "not being careful enough." The term "medical negligible" refers to a practitioner of the medical professional acting or refraining from acting negligently in the context of the medical sector. As we can see, a physician has ruled out the chance of arriving at an inaccurate diagnosis, which may have led to risky treatment and endangered the patient's life. The opposite is also true: Under no circumstances is a doctor ever held liable for the harm a patient may suffer.

The judgment of medical negligence may be broken down into two distinct types, which are simply an error in judgment and an error in judgment brought on by negligence respectively. In this region, there is a diverse collection of mountain ranges that may be visited. An incorrect diagnosis, a delayed diagnosis, an error in surgical operations, or the creation of an inaccurate differential diagnostic chart are examples of some of the typical categories that have been included under this heading.

We may claim that a doctor has chosen a technique for the treatment that is riskier, but if it is effective, it will give a larger likelihood of success for the patient. This is because the doctor is deciding whether or not it constitutes carelessness. If the procedure does not provide the expected results, this will not constitute medical negligence.

In the second possible situation, if a patient who was having surgical treatments died as a result of medical carelessness on the part of the doctor, such as incorrect suturing or inappropriate anesthesia, this would constitute medical negligence. If this occurs, a medical practitioner or the health care establishment should be held accountable for any acts taken against a patient since they did not provide the appropriate level of care, which led to the patient's suffering on their end. There has been a discernible rise in the number of such incidents over the last decade, and one theory suggests that this trend may be attributable to the adaption of commercialization and the importance of corporate culture. It is an undeniable fact that patients constitute the primary source of revenue for the medical community as a whole, including the practitioners who are often thought of as healers.

However, as a result of recent developments, this age-old sanctity has not been maintained in the same manner, which is a cause for significant worry in the area of medicine. Since there has been a recent uptick in the number of medical lawsuits, the Supreme Court has established certain ground rules for the criminal prosecution of medical professionals. Additionally, it has reduced the number of needless legal and medical concerns, and it has addressed the annoyance that was caused by charges of medical malpractice.

Reforms Required in Medical Negligence Laws

Every day, more people in India are becoming more conscious of the issue of medical neglect. The number of incidences of medical malpractice and the number of complaints lodged against healthcare professionals are both on the rise. Even though India has been independent for 75 years and had its first case of medical negligence (Sukaroo Kobiraj v. The Empress) roughly 135 years ago, the nation still does not have medical negligence legislation on the books.

Someone once stated that "justice delayed is justice denied," and in the event of medical negligence, there should be a medical tribunal that was merged with any other tribunal (the national green tribunal) for the speedy remedy of the cases and for the justice on time.

There is no provision to punish a doctor for the carelessness that he has committed under the Medical Council Act of 1965.

In certain cases, the Medical Council has the authority to revoke a doctor's license, either temporarily or permanently, if the doctor is determined to be guilty; however, the Council does not have the authority to force compensation to be paid to the victim.

Section 88 of the Indian Penal Code from 1860 states that incidents of medical negligence cannot normally be brought before a criminal court since there are provisions in place to protect medical practitioners.

It is possible that a private complaint against a doctor will not be accepted unless the complainant shows prima facie evidence before the court and an opinion from an expert who is competent to the doctor. However, the complaint was rejected since there was insufficient evidence to support it.

They commit acts of carelessness because they are not as competent as other physicians who have a high level of knowledge and competence, but they can fool the system by buying a degree and getting a license regardless of whether or not they have either of those things. Regarding this topic, there have to be stringent laws.

Conclusion
In today's culture, the topic of medical negligence is one of the most pressing problems. As the number of patient fatalities continues to rise, this situation is becoming more dangerous for humankind. There are a lot of examples emerging of medical negligence, and the law is not so adequate to penalize individuals who are careless in their service. As a result, many people are gradually losing trust in the medical profession.

To preserve or safeguard people's right to life, we need to develop a functional legal framework in which every case should be examined in a timely and appropriate manner. This is necessary for us to do. In our nation, there is a law for negligence, but it does not distinguish between general carelessness and medical negligence. If there is a law for punishment, then there is also a means to evade it by utilizing other laws.