Violence Against Doctors: The Push for a Central Law Beyond State Legislation
More than 75 percent of doctors in India report having experienced some form of violence during their careers, according to figures cited in recent parliamentary discussion, yet the country still has no single central law dedicated to protecting doctors and healthcare workers from assault. What exists instead is a patchwork of over 20 state-level Medical Protection Acts, general criminal law provisions, and one narrow central protection that only applies during a declared epidemic.
What Protection Actually Exists Today
More than 20 Indian states, including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, Assam, and Andhra Pradesh, have enacted their own Medical Protection Acts criminalising assault on healthcare personnel and vandalism of hospitals and clinics, generally allowing arrest without a warrant and prescribing jail terms and fines. Because these are state laws, their content, penalties, and enforcement rigour vary considerably from one state to another, and police response to a hospital violence complaint often depends heavily on local implementation rather than a uniform national standard.
At the central level, the only dedicated statutory protection came through amendments to the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 during the COVID-19 pandemic, which made violence against healthcare workers a cognisable, non-bailable offence, but only during a declared epidemic. Outside an epidemic, doctors rely on general provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, covering assault, criminal intimidation, and grievous hurt, the same framework that applies to violence against any citizen, without healthcare-specific aggravating provisions or expedited procedure.
A Long, Repeatedly Stalled History of Central Legislation Attempts
The demand for central legislation is not new. The Indian Medical Association first raised it formally in 2015 following a series of attacks on doctors, leading to an inter-ministerial committee whose recommendations were never made public. In 2019, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare itself drafted the Healthcare Services Personnel and Clinical Establishments (Prohibition of Violence and Damage to Property) Bill, proposing up to ten years’ imprisonment and fines between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 10 lakh for grievous violence, with offences classified as cognisable and non-bailable.
That 2019 draft was reportedly stalled by the Ministry of Home Affairs for undisclosed reasons and never moved to Parliament. A Right to Information request in 2024 confirmed that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had formally decided against pursuing separate central legislation, a decision that predates renewed public pressure following the 2024 sexual assault and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, which reignited nationwide protests and strikes among resident doctors.
The Supreme Court’s National Task Force and the 2025 Private Member’s Bill
Following the R.G. Kar case, the Supreme Court constituted a National Task Force specifically to build national consensus and formulate protocols for the safety and security of healthcare professionals, with the Indian Medical Association submitting detailed proposals, including its own draft act and survey data on night-duty safety covering nearly 3,900 doctors nationally.
Separately, a private member’s bill, the Central Protection of Healthcare Workers and Medical Establishments from Violence Act, 2025, was introduced in the Rajya Sabha, proposing penalties of up to ten years’ imprisonment and Rs 10 lakh in fines for grievous assault, a mandatory FIR within one hour of a complaint, and a requirement for medical colleges and hospitals to maintain minimum security staffing. As a private member’s bill rather than a government bill, its prospects of passage remain considerably less certain than government-sponsored legislation, and as of mid-2026 it has not progressed to enactment.
Why ‘Public Health Is a State Subject’ Keeps Blocking Central Action
The recurring official justification for not enacting central legislation is that public health and law and order both sit primarily within state jurisdiction under India’s constitutional division of powers, making a central law seen by some ministries as duplicative of, or in tension with, existing state Medical Protection Acts. Advocates for a central law counter that a uniform national statute would not need to override state laws but could operate alongside them, providing a consistent floor of protection and signalling national seriousness in states that have not yet enacted their own legislation.
For hospitals and doctors operating today, the practical reality is that protection level depends heavily on which state a facility is in, and doctors moving between states, or working in the small number of states without a dedicated Medical Protection Act, face a genuinely different legal landscape depending on location alone.
Conclusion
A decade after the Indian Medical Association first formally raised the demand, India still has no central law protecting doctors from violence, only a fragmented mix of state acts, general criminal provisions, and one epidemic-specific central protection. With the Supreme Court’s National Task Force now actively engaged and a private member’s bill in the Rajya Sabha, the issue is more live than it has been in years, though the outcome remains genuinely uncertain as of this writing.
Researched Resources
1. Nationwide Surge In Violence Against Doctors: Hospitals Becoming Battlefields
2. Central law to stop violence against healthcare professionals stalled
4. Factsheet: Mapping legal response to address violence against healthcare professionals in India
Disclaimer: This article is for general informational and educational purposes and reflects the status of central and state legislation on violence against doctors in India as understood at the time of writing; the legislative situation continues to evolve. It is not legal advice, and doctors or hospitals facing a specific incident should consult local law enforcement and a qualified legal advisor.
Vivek Chaudhary is a Technical Content Developer specializing in healthcare, health technology, and digital healthcare business solutions. He creates research-driven, SEO-focused content for doctors, clinics, hospitals, healthcare professionals, and patients, covering topics such as healthcare technology, patient engagement, clinic management, digital communication, and online visibility.
