The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has dismissed a revision petition filed by 63-year-old Errol Sequeira against the BMC-run K.A. Bhabha Hospital, holding that his plea was barred by limitation due to an unexplained delay of 758 days.
A Bench comprising Dr. Inder Jit Singh (Presiding Member) and Justice Dr. Sudhir Kumar Jain (Member) refused to condone the delay, observing that old age, illness, financial issues, difficulty in retrieving old records, or incorrect filing could not be accepted as sufficient legal grounds.
“The petitioner acted in a negligent manner and failed to show sufficient cause for the delay,” the Commission stated, stressing that limitation laws must be applied strictly and cannot be relaxed on sympathetic considerations.
Background of the Dispute
The dispute dates back to 2003, when Sequeira’s mother, Juliet Sequeira, suffering from respiratory distress, allegedly died unattended during a doctors’ strike at Bhabha Hospital.
In 2016, a district consumer forum held the hospital guilty of medical negligence, observing that government doctors cannot go on strike and abandon critical patients, and ordered Rs 1.50 lakh compensation to Sequeira.
The forum rejected the hospital’s claim that the treatment was free, noting:
“Merely because it is a government hospital, it does not entitle it to admit a patient and keep her in a serious condition without any treatment. That amounts to gross negligence.”
Legal Proceedings and Outcome
Sequeira later approached the State Consumer Commission, which did not rule in his favour, prompting him to move the NCDRC. However, his petition was filed after a delay of over two years.
The NCDRC found his explanation inadequate and lacking due diligence. Consequently, the condonation plea was dismissed, and the revision petition was rejected as time-barred.
