The Telangana Human Rights Commission found the hospital wholly responsible for the incident and issued several recommendations, including appropriate action against all officials responsible.
Published Jul 19, 2025 | 12:05 AM ⚊ Updated Jul 19, 2025 | 12:05 AM
Representative image (iStock)
Synopsis: A decade after expired hepatitis B vaccines were administered to sixteen people at Hyderabad’s Gandhi Hospital, the Telangana Human Rights Commission has held the hospital responsible for medical negligence and directed the state government to pay ₹1.25 lakh as compensation to each victim. The commission also directed disciplinary action against hospital officials, and recommended systemic safeguards.
More than a decade after a doctor at Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad administered expired hepatitis B vaccines to sixteen individuals, the Telangana Human Rights Commission (THRC) has directed the state government to pay each of them ₹1.25 lakh in compensation, holding the hospital and its staff responsible for medical negligence.
The case dates back to 2014 and involves Dr V Tara Devi, a Research Fellow at the ART/COE unit of the hospital.
Six of the victims later deposed before the THRC, reporting side effects such as “mental tension, giddiness, drowsiness, stomach pain, body pains, etc.” and urged the Commission to “conduct a thorough enquiry and to take action against Dr V Tara Devi, and do justice.”
On 16 September 2014, the THRC sought a report from the Superintendent of Gandhi Hospital.
The subsequent report noted that the vaccine pack had “two different dates, one for expiry and one for syringe,” and that Dr Tara Devi, “by oversight, administered expired vaccines to the complainants.”
On 4 July, 2025, following a prolonged inquiry, the THRC found the hospital wholly responsible for the incident and issued several recommendations, including the financial compensation.
It directed the Chief Secretary to the Government to take appropriate action against all officials responsible, “including administrative and supervisory authorities, particularly the Superintendent, Gandhi Hospital, Secunderabad.”
The Commission observed that “though doctor Dr V Tara Devi was later suspended from service, mere suspension does not absolve the liability of the authorities or the institution in granting adequate compensation to the affected individuals.”
In its 2014 report, the hospital blamed the manufacturer of the vaccine for the error, stating that “it is wrong on the part of the manufacturer to print the two different dates on the vaccine pack. Equally, the dealer of the drug is also responsible for supplying expired vaccines.”
“After administering the expired vaccines, Dr V Tara Devi realised her mistake and immediately informed her superiors. The subject incident was not intentional and there is no negligence on the part of the said doctor,” it stated.
It further stated that the vaccine was “of low potency and hence, there will be no side effects,” and pointed out that the complainants continued to attend work regularly, casting doubt on the severity of their symptoms.
The report also alleged that “boring grudge against the said doctor, the complainants have filed the subject complaint with baseless allegations,” and cited staff shortages at the ART/COE as a contributing factor.
But when the Superintendent’s report was shared with the complainants, they responded that “it is the bounded duty of the medical officer or the doctor to check the expiry date of the drug before administering it to the patients and failure on their part in doing so would certainly constitute a negligent act.”
They emphasised that they had “suffered mental agony due to the negligent act of Dr V Tara Devi.” On 13 August 2015, the complainants submitted a memo to the Commission along with a vaccine wrapper – ‘Elovac-B’ Hepatitis Vaccine.
The case was later tagged with another, in which the Commission had taken suo motu cognisance based on a newspaper report alleging irregularities in the supply of medicines at Gandhi Hospital.
In the latter case, the Commission directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police, North Zone, Hyderabad City, to inspect the drugs at Gandhi Hospital.
The Commission also recorded that “the then Secretary & CEO of this Commission, along with the Deputy Registrar visited Gandhi Hospital on 14.08.2015” and made suggestions for improving hospital facilities.
It was further noted that “Dr V Tara Devi was subsequently suspended from service.”
The Commission found the hospital’s report on the incident “do not inspire confidence and does not satisfactorily address the core issue of administering expired vaccines to the complainants.”
It stressed that “it is the basic and non-negotiable duty of every medical officer to verify the validity of the drug before administering it to the patient. Claiming oversight in such a sensitive matter is unacceptable, particularly when it directly concerns the safety of the patients.”
The Commission criticised the hospital’s claim that the vaccines were of low potency, calling it “medically unfounded and undermines the seriousness of the issue.”
It also noted that “the attempt to shift the onus onto the manufacturer and dealer, without fixing the accountability within the hospital system, reflects a systemic failure.”
The Commission stated that the complainants’ “right to health, which is an integral part of right to life, has been severely jeopardised,” and that “they were subjected to unsafe and negligent medical practices leading to physical complications, severe health issues and mental anguish.”
Calling the incident “a grave medical lapse with potentially long-term health consequences,” the Commission underlined that medical institutions must “exercise highest degree of caution while dealing with drug administration.”
It concluded that “the negligent act of the Dr V Tara Devi, besides the negligence of all higher-ups clearly demonstrates lack of due diligence and quality control within the hospital,” and that the Superintendent’s report was “perverse and written with ulterior motives to save himself and other doctors.”
During the enquiry, the victims reiterated the “health issues and their long suffering” due to the expired vaccines. The Commission held that “the Government of Telangana is vicariously liable for the acts and omissions of the subject hospital authorities.”
Apart from the financial compensation for the victims, the Commission made several recommendations under Section 18 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.
Hospital authorities must ensure they “do not receive medicines which are likely to expire within a short duration, and further direct the concerned not to take delivery of expired medicines.”
Suppliers must also be instructed “to print the date of expiry of the medicines at a conspicuous place on the wrapper as well as on the medicine, to avoid any misuse/maladministration of medicines.”
All recommendations are to be implemented within two months from the receipt of the order, following which the Commission closed further proceedings in both related cases.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
