Emergency medical treatment must come first: Article 21 overrides police and procedural formalities when life is at risk.
Article 21 imposes a paramount duty to preserve human life, requiring doctors and hospitals to provide immediate medical aid to an injured person before any police or medico-legal formalities are completed. Procedural laws, zonal arrangements, and hospital rules cannot delay urgent treatment where life is at stake. The Code of Medical Ethics and the accepted position of medical authorities support the rule that the patient must be attended to first and formalities completed later. The legal effect is that emergency medical care is mandatory and may not be withheld on procedural grounds.
Issues: Whether a doctor is under a legal and professional duty to provide immediate medical aid to an injured person before compliance with police or other procedural formalities, and whether hospital or zonal rules can delay such treatment.
Analysis: The right to life under Article 21 imposes a paramount obligation to preserve human life, and that obligation applies to every doctor, whether in a government or private hospital. Procedural laws, police formalities, and zonal arrangements cannot stand in the way of immediate treatment where life is at stake. The Court also relied on the Code of Medical Ethics and the accepted position of the medical authorities that the injured must first be attended to and only thereafter should formalities be completed.
Conclusion: The duty to render immediate medical assistance to an injured person is mandatory, and treatment cannot be postponed for medico-legal or police formalities.
Final Conclusion: The decision affirms an enforceable legal duty on medical practitioners and institutions to prioritise urgent care over procedural requirements, and the directions issued were intended to be followed throughout the country.
Ratio Decidendi: The obligation to preserve human life under Article 21 overrides procedural and administrative formalities, so emergency medical treatment must be given immediately and cannot be withheld on medico-legal grounds.
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