NCDRC Cannot Travel Beyond Pleadings, Rules Supreme Court While Quashing Medical Negligence Award and Ordering Complainant to Return ₹10 Lakh to Doctors

The Supreme Court set aside an order of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) which had awarded ₹10 lakh compensation to a complainant in a medical negligence case. The Court held that the NCDRC exceeded its jurisdiction by inventing a case of “antenatal negligence” against the doctors, even though the original consumer complaint was strictly limited to allegations of “post-delivery negligence.” Emphasising settled legal principles, the Supreme Court reiterated that adjudicatory bodies must confine their findings to the pleadings and cannot create a new cause of action at the appellate stage. Consequently, the Court directed the complainant to refund the compensation amount to the doctors, holding the NCDRC’s approach legally impermissible.