Woman seeks compensation for failed vasectomy, Allahabad High Court orders chief medical officer to take action

A woman has filed an application in the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court seeking compensation for the birth of her fifth child due to a botched vasectomy.

The woman claimed that despite undergoing sterilization surgery on August 26, 2019 at Mashreta Community Health Centre in Sitapur district, she gave birth to a child on November 30, 2021.

The woman, who already had four children when she underwent the surgery, moved the court as her claim for compensation under the Pariwar Niyojan compensation scheme was not entertained and is represented by lawyers Amrendra Kumar, Neeraj Kumar Baghel, Piyush Pathak and Priya Singh.

The scheme, administered by the National Health Mission, provides financial relief in cases of failed sterilization procedures. Her claim was initially submitted to the Director General of Family Welfare on May 16, 2023, but was rejected due to missing documents.

The state standing counsel representing the government provided information on the instructions of the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Sitapur confirming that the application was indeed rejected due to documentary issues. He further informed the court that the CMO had written to the director of the Machrehta Community Health Centre on August 3, 2024, asking him to remove the deficiencies pointed out by the directorate and again send the petitioner’s claim to the court for consideration.

A bench comprising Justice Sangeeta Chandra and Justice Shree Prakash Singh, hearing the case, disposed of the plea and directed to ensure reconsideration of the suit.

The court directed the director of the community health centre Machrehta to send the filled-in documents along with the claim application to the chief medical officer, Sitapur, within three weeks.

Furthermore, the court ordered the CMO to examine the claim and transmit it to the competent authority within four weeks.