GUJARAT MEDICARE SERVICE PERSONS AND MEDICARE SERVICE INSTITUTIONS (PREVENTION OF VIOLENCE AND DAMAGE OR LOSS OF PROPERTY) ACT, 2012
(Gujarat Act No. 13 of 2017)
(First published, after having received the assent of the Governor, in the "Gujarat Government Gazette", on the 11th April, 2012).
An Act to prohibit violence against medicare service persons and damage or loss of property in medicare service institutions and for the matters connected therewith and incidental thereto.
Whereas the acts of violence of causing injury or danger to life of medicare service persons and damage or loss of property of medicare service institutions have been on increase in the Slate causing unrest in medicare service persons and professionals resulting in hindrance of such services in the State;
And Whereas it has become necessary to prohibit such violence against medicare service persons and prevention of damage or toss of property of medicare service institutions from such violent activities in the public interest;
It is hereby enacted in the Sixty-third Year of the Republic of India, as follows:-
1. Short title extent and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the Gujarat Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage or Loss of Property) Act, 2012.
(2) It extends to the whole of State of Gujarat.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, -
(a) "damage" means impairment of the usefulness or value of the property or causing harm to such property;
(b) "hospital and medical records" means all such documents or records accumulated or maintained by hospital authority or any medical authority ranging from records of historic interest to any acknowledgments;
(c) "medicare service institution" means all institutions providing medicare services, to people under any recognise system of medicine which are under the control of the State Government, Central Government or local bodies, etc. including any private hospital having facilities for treatment of sick and used for their reception or stay; any private maternity home where women are usually received and accommodated for the purpose of confinement and ante-natal and post-natal cam in connection with the child birth or anything connected therewith; arid any private nursing home used or intended to be used for the reception and accommodation of persons suffering from any sickness, injury or infirmity whether of body or mind, and providing of treatment or nursing or both of them and includes a maternity home or convalescent home or mobile medicare unit,
(d) "medicare service persons" in relation to a medicare service institution shall include,-
(i) Registered Medical Practitioners (including a person having provisional registration) working in a medicare service institution;
(ii) Nurses registered under the Gujarat Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act, 1968, (Gujarat 24 of 1968);
(iii) Auxiliary Nurse and Mid-wife;
(iv) Trained Dai;
(v) Medical student;
(vi) Nursing student;
(vii) para medical staff and other staff or employee directly or indirectly employed by a medicare service institution for providing required services;
(e) "medical student" means a student who is undergoing training or studies in medical profession;
(f) "mobile medical unit" means an ambulance or any vehicle equipped with medical equipment, used for providing medicare service;
(g) "nursing student" means a student who is undergoing training or studies in nursing profession;
(h) "offender" means any person who either by himself or as a member or as a leader of a group of persons or organisation commits or attempts to commit or abets or incites the commission of violence under this Act;
(i) "para medical staff" means a person who assists the medicare service person in providing medicare service;
(j) "property" means any property, movable or immovable including tangible or intangible (subject to the provisions of Information Technology Act, 2000, (21 of 2000), or hospital and medical records or medical equipment or medical machinery or any such property as owned by or in possession, of or under the control of any medicare personnel or medicare service institution;
(k) "violence" means an act or activity causing harm or which may cause any harm, injury or endangering the life or intimidation, obstruction or hindrance to any medicare service person in discharge of duty in a medicare service institution or patient or causing damage or loss to the property in a medicare service institution.
3. Prohibition of violence. - No person shall indulge in any act of violence against medicare service person or damage or loss to properly in a medicare service institution.
4. Penalty. - Any offender who commits any act or attempts to commit or abets or incites the commission of any act of violence in contravention of section 3, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine which may extend to fifty thousand rupees or with both.
5. Cognizance of offence. - Any offence committed under this Act shall be cognizable and non-bailable.
6. Liability to pay compensation for damage or loss caused to property. - (1) In addition to the punishment specified in section 4, the offender shall also be liable to pay compensation, within such time limit as the Court may prescribe, in terms of penalty of twice the market price of such medical equipment damaged and loss caused to the property, as may be determined by the Court.
(2) If the offender does not pay the compensation under sub-section (1), the said sum shall be recovered under the provisions of the Gujarat Land Revenue Code, 1879, (Bombay V of 1879) as an arrear of land revenue.
7. Power to make rules. - (1) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.
(2) All rules made under this section shall be laid, for not less than thirty days, before the State Legislature as soon as may be after they are made and shall be subject to rescission by the State Legislature or to such modification as the State Legislature may make during the session in which they are so laid or the session immediately following.
(3) Any rescission or modification so made by the State Legislature shall be published in the Official Gazette, and shall thereupon take effect
8. Compounding of offences. - (1) The Government or any person authorised by the Government by general or special order m this behalf may either before or after the institution of the proceedings, compound an offence punishable by or under this Act.
(2) Where an offence has been compounded, the offender, if in custody shall be discharged and no further proceedings shall be taken against him in respect of the offence compounded.
9. Protection of action taken in good faith. - No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against the Government or any person or officer authorised by the Government or the Head of a medicare service institution or his authorised representative for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act.
10. Act not in derogation of any other law. - The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to and not in derogation of the provisions of any other law for the time being in force.
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