S.P.SRIVASTAVA, J. - (1.)This Writ Petition was initially heard by a Division Bench. The two learned Judges of this Court constituting the Division Bench passed separate conflicting judgments/orders which were signed and delivered. In the aforesaid situation treating the case to be one where there was a difference of opinion, a reference was made by Hon'ble the Chief Justice to a third Judge. The third Judge/nominated Judge vide the order dated 16-2-1998 returned the reference unanswered to Hon'ble the Chief Justice for further appropriate orders indicating that reference was incompetent for the reasons given in that order and the matter required to be placed before a larger Bench which could effectively deal with the situation as it will not be under any inhibition nor incompetent to hear every aspect of the case before it. It was thereafter that Hon'ble the Chief Justice constituted the present Full Bench and the Writ Petition has thus come up before it for being heard and disposed of.
(2.)Vinod Kumar Gupta, the husband of the Petitioner No. 1 and the father of petitioners No. 2 to 4, who stood lodged in the Central Jail, Gwalior being an undertrial, was brought in the Central jail Dispensary Gwalior from the cell where he stood confined at 6,30 p.m. on 8-5-1995 for his treatment. At the time when he was brought to the Central Jail Dispensary he was found unconscious having convulsions and suffering from high fever which was measured and found to be 105 fahrenheit. The attending doctor at the Central Jail Dispensary Gwalior, on provisional diagnosis found it to be a case of hyperpyrexia. He gave the medicines which he thought proper but advised for his shifting to the Government Hospital for further treatment. Vinod Kumar Gupta was thereafter shifted to the G. R. Medical College J. A. Group of Hospitals and was admitted there at 8.00 p.m. on the same day. At the time of admission he was found to be deeply unconscious and not responding to deep painful stimuli. The attending doctor provisionally came to the conclusion that it was a case of cerebral malaria. The medicines were administered by the doctor and by 9.00 p.m. his temperature came down to 104 fahrenheit but he was found gasping. This situation continued even at 10.00 p.m. At 11.00 p.m. however the pulse and blood-pressure went down and were not recordable. The heart sounds were found to be muffled and the gasping continued. The patient remained in this situation up to 12.00 A.M. and was declared deed at 12.05 a.m. on 9-6-1996. The post-mortem report, which was conducted by three doctors, reported the cause of death to be cardio- respiratory failure.
(3.)The Writ Petition was thereafter filed by the four petitioners wherein State of Madhya Pradesh through Chief Secretary, Government of Madhya Pradesh; Director General of prison, Government of Madhya Pradesh; Superintendent of Central Jail, Gwalior; Collector and District Magistrate, Gwalior; Principal Secretary, Ministry of Health, Government of Madhya Pradesh; Principal Secretary, Department of Jail, Government of Madhya Pradesh; Principal Secretary, Medical Education, Government of Madhya Pradesh and Superintendent, J. A. Group of Hospitals, Gwalior, were impleaded as respondents.