As woman seeks compensation after botched vasectomy, Allahabad HC orders chief medical officer to take action

A woman approached the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court seeking compensation for her fifth child born after a failed vasectomy.

The woman claimed that although she underwent sterilization surgery at Mahretta Community Health Center in Sitapur district on August 26, 2019, she gave birth to a child on November 30, 2021.

The woman, who had four children at the time of the surgery, approached the court after her claim for compensation under the Pariwar Niyojan Compensation Scheme was not processed, led by lawyers Amrendra Kumar, Neeraj Kumar Baghel, Piyush Pathak and Priya Singh represent.

The program is administered by the National Health Corps and is designed to provide financial relief in the event of failed sterilization procedures. Her claim was initially submitted to the Director 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 documentation issues. He further informed the court that the CMO had written to Machrehta, the head of the community health center on August 3, 2024, to remove the deficiencies pointed out by the authority and again sent the petitioner’s claims for consideration.

A bench of Justice Sangeeta Chandra and Justice Shree Prakash Singh heard the case and disposed of the petition and directed to ensure reconsideration of the claim.

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

Additionally, the court ordered the CMO to review the claim and forward it to the competent authority within four weeks.