Article 21 includes a right to timely medical records in custodial settings
Delay in furnishing custodial medical records is itself a constitutional injury, the bench holds, issuing directions to all state prison departments.
What Happened
The petitioner sought her late husband's custodial medical records, which had been requested repeatedly over fourteen months and were furnished only in part. She approached the Court under Article 32 seeking a direction and a framework for future cases.
Legal Issue
Whether the right to life under Article 21 extends to timely access to custodial medical records by the prisoner or the next of kin, and what timeline a state is obliged to observe.
Court Held
The Court held that access to one's own medical record, and that of a deceased relative in custody, is a facet of the right to life and personal liberty. Delay defeats the remedy in practical terms, since records deteriorate and inquiries close. The Court fixed a thirty-day outer limit and directed every state prison department to publish a nodal officer.
Key takeaways
- Custodial medical records must be furnished within thirty days of a request.
- The right extends to the next of kin of a deceased prisoner.
- Every state prison department must designate and publish a nodal officer.
- Non-compliance may be pursued as contempt without a fresh petition.
Why It Matters
The directions convert a recurring grievance into an enforceable timeline, and give practitioners in custodial death matters a concrete route to the underlying record.