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Oraon case: French doctor accused of violating medical ethics

Ranvir Nayar in Paris

An association of Indians based in France has written to the Medical Council of France asking if Doctor Bertrand Debre, who went on record giving gory details of the Lalita Oraon case, did not violate the ethics of the profession by going public on a patient's medical condition.

In a letter addressed to the President of the Conseil National de l'Ordres Medecins, the Indian Professionals Association has pointed out how Doctor Debre gave detailed interviews to the media, including television, describing in great detail the injuries allegedly inflicted on Oraon's private parts.

The IPA says Debre's remarks were printed by the Indian media as well and now the case, along with its sexual insinuations, is known all over the country and her own village too. ''Since in India a lot of importance is attached to the virginity and purity of a woman, the girl will be seen as soiled. There will also be doubts about her ability to bear children and hence she may never be able to marry,'' the letter says.

In the letter, the IPA also says that the doctor's utterances have cast a shadow on the diplomat Amrit Lugun's character and jeopardised his career without any evidence. The IPA is now awaiting a response from the Medical Council, before deciding its future course of action.

''We will carry on to the maximum extent possible. It is shocking that the French press went to town about the incident and the doctor also joined in as if it were a biology class. And the authorities were only too obliging in providing gory details to the media. Nothing was done to protect the dignity of the girl and that is why we have taken up this matter,'' Vijay Phadke, a lawyer and member of the IPA, told rediff.com in Paris recently.

''The fate of the two main protagonists has been put aside and forgotten now as the two sides try to settle the matter. As an adviser to the government I feel this matter should be taken up and the government should look at it seriously since it involves the dignity and image of the country. We should not invoke diplomatic immunity, but if we have access to the case files and know the entire circumstances of the case, then the diplomat should give his testimony to the French judge,'' Phadke said.

Phadke says as a lawyer he feels that Doctor Debre has crossed the line in giving out details of the case. ''To what extent he has crossed the line legally is difficult to say right now. But there is a thin line dividing law, morals and ethics and we feel that he has broken the medical code in his dealings. That is why we have taken up the matter. And I hope that we will get some support from Indian women's organisations in our attempt to protect the dignity of the girl,'' he explains.

With about 50 members drawn from a wide range of professions, the IPA was formed two years ago to bring Indians together and represent their interests in France with a unified voice.

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