Case:- Deep Nursing Home and another Versus Manmeet Singh Mattewal and others
Citation:- 2025 INSC 1094
Date:- 09.09.2025
Supreme Court Bench:- JUSTICE SANJAY KUMAR & JUSTICE SATISH CHANDRA SHARMA
The Hon’ble Supreme Court ordered the complainant to refund the Rs. 10 lakhs compensation received, holding that the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) had wrongly awarded it by inventing a case of ‘antenatal negligence’ against the doctors, even though the original complaint was confined to ‘post-delivery negligence’.
- The Hon’ble ruled that no authority can go beyond the pleadings and build a case which was never raised by the complainant.
- The present case arose after a woman died of Post-Partum Haemorrhage (PPH) soon after giving birth to a stillborn child at a nursing home.
The complainant had alleged that the nursing home was ill-equipped, delayed blood transfusions, mishandled the transfer to PGI Chandigarh, and worsened matters by immediately disclosing the child’s death. - The Punjab State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (SCDRC) had initially found the nursing home negligent and awarded over ₹20 lakhs as compensation.
- On appeal, the NCDRC absolved the nursing home, saying there was no negligence in delivery or postnatal care, but then introduced a new ground of antenatal negligence against the doctor.
- In further appeal, The Hon’ble Supreme Court said that once the NCDRC held there was no negligence in delivery/post-delivery, the matter had attained finality, since the complainants never appealed further.
- The Court concluded that the NCDRC exceeded its jurisdiction by going beyond the complaint, and therefore the Hon’ble Court directed the complainant to refund the Rs. 10 lakhs.
