Doctor gets two years in jail; failed to pay Rs 70 lakh relief in negligence case

The UT Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has sentenced Dr Sanjay Saluja, an orthopaedic surgeon, to two-year imprisonment for failing to pay over Rs 70 lakh as compensation after being held guilty of medical negligence. The commission has also directed the doctor to pay a fine of Rs 10,000. In default of payment of the fine, he will have to undergo further simple imprisonment for six months.

Earlier, Abhishek Ahluwalia had filed an execution application for enforcement of the order dated 1 July 2014, passed by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, New Delhi, in first appeal holding the doctor guilty of medical negligence and granting a total of Rs 70,00,000 as compensation to the victim. The commission had held that the leg of the victim had to be amputated in 2003 due to the negligence of the doctor in treating a fractured leg. Thus, his life had been crippled and he would have to live in such a condition throughout his life.

The UT commission held that “there has been a defiance of the order dated 1 July 2014, passed in first appeal by the national commission. There is no stay from the Supreme Court so far. The judgement debtor failed to comply with the order. This exhibits his willful and intentional defiance of the order. Thus, the conduct of Dr Sanjay Saluja cannot be said to be bona fide.”

FDA orders recall of Maggi noodles, claims to have found excess lead

Food Safety and Drug Administration (FDA) has ordered Nestle India to recall a batch of Maggi noodles from shops across the country, saying the product contained dangerous levels of lead. The FDA in Uttar Pradesh said high lead content was found during routine tests on two dozen packets of instant noodles, manufactured by Nestle in India.

Two FDA officials said all the packets of instant noodles tested in the state-run laboratory were contaminated. They found a lead concentration of 17.2 parts per million (ppm), nearly seven times the permissible limit. The FDA officials said the acceptable limit of lead ranges between 0.01 ppm and 2.5 ppm. The scientists also found high levels of added monosodium glutamate (MSG), a taste enhancer, in the noodles.

Nestle India, a subsidiary of Swiss-based Nestle SA , said it had strict safety and quality controls in place for all raw materials used to make Maggi noodles.

“We do not add MSG to Maggi Noodles, and glutamate, if present, may come from naturally occurring sources. We are surprised with the content supposedly found in the sample as we monitor the lead content regularly as a part of the regulatory requirements,” a statement from the company said.

A company spokesman confirmed Uttar Pradesh had ordered it to withdraw the batch dating back to March 2014, but added the items concerned had either already been consumed or were beyond the sell-by date, making the recall difficult.

Food regulator orders recall of Hector Beverages’ Tzinga, terms it ‘unsafe’

The Food Safety & Standards Authority of India has ordered the recall of energy drink brand Tzinga of Hector Beverages, terming it ‘unsafe’.

“You are directed to recall all the existing products (under Tzinga) from market under intimation to FSSAI as the same has been declared unsafe,” the Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) wrote to Hector Beverages in a letter dated 12 May.

This is a rare case when the food authority has directed a company to entirely withdraw its products. So far, it has mainly directed firms to either change formulations or labelling on their packs.