Hyderabad Consumer Forum Orders Citizens Hospital to Pay ₹1 Cr Over UoH Scholar Death

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Hyderabad has directed Citizens Speciality Hospital in Nallagandla and consultant neurologist Aparna Vijay Kumar to pay ₹1 crore in compensation to the parents of Surya Pratap Bharati, a 30-year-old Ph.D scholar at the University of Hyderabad who died in August 2020.

Surya, a first-generation scholar hailing from a financially disadvantaged family in the Mau district of Uttar Pradesh, suffered a brain stroke on August 17, 2020, and was admitted to Citizens Hospital for medical treatment.

According to the complaint filed before the commission, Citizens Hospital reported him as COVID-19 positive and advised his transfer to a dedicated COVID facility. He was subsequently moved to Continental Hospital on August 19, 2020, where medical tests reportedly confirmed that he was negative for COVID-19. He was later declared brain dead and died on August 21, 2020.

The case was taken up pro bono by advocate Rajasri Manche after the deceased scholar's friends approached legal counsel. His friends stated that the legal battle was pursued independently, without the backing of any political organisation.

In its order, the commission held the hospital and the doctor responsible for deficiency in service and awarded the compensation of ₹1 crore to Surya's parents. The legal counsel noted that this ruling marks the largest compensation amount ever awarded by a district consumer forum.