KK Singh, acting as his son Sushant Singh Rajput’s legal heir and representative, filed a complaint against psychotherapist Susan Walker for disclosing details of the actor’s mental health to the media.
By HT Entertainment Desk, Hindustan Times New Delhi
Sushant Singh Rajput’s father KK Singh filed a complaint against Susan Walker.
Sushant Singh Rajput’s father, KK Singh, has reported the late actor’s psychotherapist Susan Walker to the Medical Council of India for ‘professional misconduct’. In his complaint, dated September 7, Singh accused her of breaking the code of client confidentiality, after she told the media that Sushant was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
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The complaint said that Susan was in violation of Regulation 8.2 of the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002. The regulation stipulates that a medical professional cannot disclose the secrets of a patient, except in three cases - in a court of law under orders of the presiding judge, in circumstances where there is a serious and identified risk to a specific person/community and in case of notifiable diseases.
Singh, who filed the complaint as Sushant’s ‘legal heir and representative’, sought action against Susan. “As such, it is clear that Ms. Susan Walker has waived her confidentiality without any legal basis and without even consulting the complainant and as such she has committed professional misconduct under Regulation 7.14 of the 2002 Regulations,” he wrote in the letter to the medical council.
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“Further Regulation 2.2 of the 2002 Regulations also require medical practitioners to not reveal anything disclosed by patients in confidence. Also, the onus to show that the disclosure was made with any authority lie on the medical practitioner in view of Section 111 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. In view thereof, it is humbly requested that required proceedings may be initiated against Ms. Susan Walker under Regulation 8 of the 2002 Regulations,” he added.
Singh also urged the board to issue an order prohibiting Susan or any other medical practitioners to disclose information about the medical consultations of Sushant to the media or public.
In a statement that was aired on August 1, Susan had told journalist Barkha Dutt that she felt it was her ‘duty’ to clear the air due to the ‘misinformation and conspiracy theories’ being spread online about Sushant and his girlfriend, Rhea Chakraborty.
“Sushant was suffering terribly during his bouts of depression and hypomania. Rhea was his strongest support. From the first time I met them as a couple, I was impressed by the degree of concern, love and support she showed. It was very evident how close they were. Rhea took care of his appointments and gave him enough courage to attend, despite his being so fearful that someone would find out,” she said, adding that when he was ‘severely ill’, he depended on her as ‘somewhat of a mother figure’.
Sushant’s family has filed an abetment to suicide case against Rhea. They firmly believe that he had no mental health issues prior to entering into a relationship with her in 2019.