Sec 491 IPC-Breach of contract to attend on and supply wants of helpless person

491. Breach of contractContract An agreement enforceable by law is a contract. All agreements are contracts if they are made by the free consent of parties competent to contract, for a lawful consideration and with a lawful object, and are not hereby expressly declared to be void. Indian Contract Act. to attend on and supply wants of helpless person

Whoever, being bound by a lawful contract to attend on or to supply the wants of any person who, by reason of youth, or of unsoundness of mind, or of a disease or bodily weakness, is helpless or incapable of providing for his own safety or of supplying his own wants, voluntarily omits so to do, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees, or with both.

NOTE:

Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of State of W.B. v. Mohammed Khalid [(1995) 1 SCC 684]. The facts in the aforesaid case are quite distinguishable from the present case. In the present case, the petitioner is a Government employee. He is paid a salary to treat all the patients approaching to the Government Hospital. The case of the Government Doctor stands on a different footings to that of the private doctor. The doctor in the Government Hospital is duty bound to attend all the patients approaching to the Hospital for their treatment and the Government pays salary to the doctors appointed in the Government Hospital to treat these patients who cannot afford to engage a private doctor to treat themselves. The doctor in the Government Hospital cannot refuse to examine or treat a patient approaching the Government Hospital.