KPMSOL NMIMS

Novice Moot Court 2024 Moot Proposition

KPMSOL NMIMS
Novice Moot Court 2024 Moot Proposition

MOOT PROPOSITION

1. Happy Homes is an emergency treatment facility centre on the outskirts of the city

of Mumbai, in Maharashtra. The population of the town of Pali, where Happy

Homes is located, is dependent to a large extent on Happy Homes for the purpose

of emergency treatments. Happy Homes is led by a group of three doctors, namely

Dr. Xander, Dr. Younis and Dr. Zeth.

2. Dr. Xander, a native of Pali, who is now in his late eighties, has stepped into more
of a managerial role at the Happy Homes Center. One of his roles at the Happy

Homes facility is to place orders for various medical devices, drugs, and equipment
that would be required at the centre on a day-to-day basis. Dr. Younis, who is

comparatively younger than Dr. Xander, is hopeful of stepping into this role some
day and, therefore, is always eager to assist Dr. Xander with the managerial tasks

at Happy Homes.
3. In November 2022, Dr. Xander was visiting his daughter, who lives abroad, and

requested Dr. Younis to take over the managerial responsibilities at the Happy
Homes facility center. Dr. Younis was eager to jump on this opportunity and

resolved to create maximum profitability for Happy Homes. In November 2022,

while placing the regular orders for equipment, Dr. Younis noticed that the number

of injections with the vital drug Pennyphrine were being ordered in excess by Dr.
Xander, every month. The drug Pennyphrine was used for the emergency treatment

of severe allergic reactions, including reactions caused by the bite of the Groho
insect, which plagued Pali, especially in the summer months.

4. These injections, being very expensive in nature and equally expensive to store in
the cold storage facility of Happy Homes, were proving to be cost-inefficient for

Happy Homes. Furthermore, Dr. Younis also noticed that since these Pennyphrine
injections had a very limited shelf life, some of the injections ordered each month
by Dr. Xander would go unutilized and result in losses to the Happy Homes facility
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Novice Moot Court 2024 Moot Proposition

center. Due to the aforesaid reasons, without consulting Dr. Xander or Dr. Zeth, Dr.
Younis decided to place an order for a lesser number of Pennyphrine injections for

the months of November and December of 2022.

5. On December 29, 2022, while most of the Happy Homes staff was away on holidays,

Mrs. Parikson was rushed to the Happy Homes facility center by her husband, Mr.

Parikson. Mrs. Parikson had been bitten by the Groho insect. When the emergency
ward doctor examined Mrs. Parikson, she realised immediately that Mrs. Parikson

had suffered severe allergic reactions due to being bitten by the Groho insect and
required the Pennyphrine injection. However, it was discovered that the Happy

Homes facility did not have a sufficient number of Pennyphrine injections for the
treatment of Mrs. Parikson. The emergency ward doctor, therefore, carried out an

alternate treatment on Mrs. Parikson, which in turn proved to be ineffective. On

December 30, 2022, Mrs. Parikson succumbed to severe allergies. In the post-

partum report, it was discovered that Mrs. Parikson’s allergic reactions had been
aggravated by a pre-existing condition, and therefore, the non-availability of the

Pennyphrine injection had resulted in her immediate death. Mr. Parikson, through
information obtained from staff of the Happy Homes hospital, discovered that the

lack of Pennyphrine injections was due to the decision made by Dr. Younis, at the
beginning of November 2022.

6. On January 15, 2023, Mr. Parikson filed a complaint before the State Consumer
Redressal Forum against Dr. Younis, claiming deficiency of services due to the

negligence committed by Dr. Younis, and therefore praying for payment of

compensation for the death of Mrs. Parikson.

7. Mr. Parikson had also simultaneously filed a police complaint under Section 304A
of the Indian Penal Code at the Pali police station against Dr. Younis. The Pali police

station, based on the complaint filed by Mr. Parikson, registered an FIR against Dr.
Younis. Upon the FIR being registered, Dr. Younis filed a criminal writ petition
before the Hon’ble Bombay High Court, under Article 226 of the Constitution of
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Novice Moot Court 2024 Moot Proposition

India and Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code, for quashing the FIR. At one
of the early hearings of the said criminal writ petition, the Hon’ble Bombay High

Court granted interim relief of stay on framing of charges against Dr. Younis, until
the final disposal of the matter.

8. When the case of Mr. Parikson versus Dr. Younis was heard before the State

Consumer Redressal Forum, Dr. Younis produced her employment agreement with
the Happy Homes facility centre before the Hon’ble Forum, and special emphasis

was placed by Dr. Younis’ counsel on paragraph 3.5 of Dr. Younis’ employment
agreement, which read as follows:

“3. 5. Indemnity: Happy Homes research facility centre shall be responsible for all

acts of Dr. Younis carried out in the ordinary course, and Dr. Younis shall not be
made personally liable for any acts that have been carried out by Dr. Younis in the

course of her employment at Happy Homes. Notwithstanding the above, Happy

Homes shall indemnify and keep Dr. Younis harmless from any and all third-party

claims that are brought against Dr. Younis in her personal capacity due to her
employment with Happy Homes research facility center."

9. Dr. Younis, using the abovementioned provision of her employment agreement,

stated that any claims of compensation to be paid to Mr. Parikson, would be

maintainable only against the Happy Homes Centre, and further, the issue of

negligence that may have been committed by Dr. Younis, was a matter that was

sub-judice before the Hon’ble Bombay High Court. Therefore, the proceedings
against Dr. Younis, before the State Consumer Redressal Forum are not

maintainable.
10. Considering the above arguments, the State Consumer Redressal Forum dismissed

the complaint filed by Mr. Parikson. Aggrieved by this decision, Mr. Parikson filed
an appeal under Section 51 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 before the
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Novice Moot Court 2024 Moot Proposition

National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. The questions before this

Hon’ble National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission are as follows:

A. Whether the Hon’ble National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has the
jurisdiction to decide upon the issue of negligence that may or may not have been

committed by Dr. Younis, considering the pendency of the criminal writ petition
before the Hon’ble Bombay High Court?

B. Whether the State Consumer Redressal Forum erred in dismissing the complaint
filed by Mr. Parikson ?

C. Whether Dr. Younis has committed an act of negligence against Mrs. Parikson,
leading to her death ?

D. Considering Clause 3.5 of the employment agreement of Dr. Younis with the Happy
Homes research facility centre, is the claim of compensation by Mr. Parikson

maintainable against Dr. Younis?