Maternity homes under Bombay High Court scanner after pregnant woman dies in operation under mobile flashlight

The Bombay High Court has constituted an 8-member committee to undertake a social audit of thirty maternity homes run by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) following the death of a pregnant woman after she was allegedly operated under a mobile flash light due to inadequate infrastructure at a maternity home..A Bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale formed the committee after receiving suggestions from the petitioner, who highlighted concerns over the poor state of municipal hospitals. Of the eight members, six were appointed based on the petitioner’s recommendations, while the remaining two—one from JJ Hospital and another from Nair Hospital in Mumbai—were nominated as per the suggestions made by BMC..The members recommended by the petitioner are: Dr Kamaxi Bhate, retired professor of Community medicine, KEM hospital;Dr Padmaja, Head of Gynaecology, KEM;Dr Reena Vani Copper, HOD, Professor at Copper Gynaecology department;Brinelle D'Souza, Chairperson, Centre for health and mental health, TISS;Sonya Gill, Vice President, Akhola Bharatiya Janwati Mahila Sanghatana;Sangeeta Rege, Health and Women rights advocate..The order was passed on petition has been filed by deceased woman's husband who moved the Court seeking compensation and a thorough probe into the death of his pregnant wife, who died hours after allegedly being operated on under a mobile flashlight at the Sushma Swaraj Maternity Home in Bhandup.The child delivered during the procedure also did not survive. .The petitioner, Khusruddin Ansari, had raised concerns about not receiving his wife’s medical records despite multiple requests. After the surgery, his wife, Shaheedunissa, had been transferred to Sion Hospital in critical condition, where she later died. Ansari claimed that the maternity home lacked adequate facilities and that doctors performed surgical procedures under the mobile torchlight due to a power outage.Ansari, who had married Shaheedunissa in May 2023, sought a thorough and time-bound investigation by the Bhandup police into the deaths of his wife and child. He has also requested compensation for the wrongful loss of their lives. His petition noted that during her pregnancy, it was routinely recorded that both mother and fetus remained healthy.On April 29, Shaheedunissa went into labor and was brought to the Sushma Swaraj Maternity Home at 8:20 AM. However, she was not taken into the operation theatre until 10:30 PM. During this time, the hospital experienced multiple power failures, and there were no inverters or generators available. The baby was delivered but did not cry, and was declared dead shortly after. Shaheedunissa was then transferred to Sion Hospital where she was declared dead at 1:30 AM.Ansari requested the medical records from both the Sushma Swaraj Maternity Home and Sion Hospital on May 22, but his requests were repeatedly ignored. The petition highlighted that, according to medical ethics regulations, medical records must be provided within 72 hours of a request..Senior Advocate Gayatri Singh, with advocate Swaraj Jadhav instructed by advocate Vijay Hiremath appeared for the petitioner.Additional Public Prosecutor Konde Deshmukh appeared for the State. Government Pleader PH Kantharia with PP Chavhan represented BMC.Advocate Ateet Shirodkar instructed by advocate Ganesh K Gole appeared for National Medical Commission.