A Family’s Hope Turns Into an Eight-Year Struggle
When Sachin Jain and his wife, Sapna, arrived at Fortis Hospital Shalimar Bagh in Delhi on August 12, 2017, they expected to celebrate the birth of their son, Devarsh Jain. Instead, their joy turned into confusion and fear almost immediately. Their baby required intensive care from the very beginning, and what should have been a time of happiness became the start of an ordeal that has lasted eight years.
“From the first day, something did not feel right,” recalled Sachin Jain. “There was an incident of asphyxia—basically the non-supply of oxygen to the brain. The doctors knew, but they never told us what exactly was wrong with the child. They spoke strangely, avoided our questions, and left us guessing.”
Devarsh, during the time of his birth at Fortis Hospital Shalimar Bagh | Photo courtesy: Family
He described how the doctor looked shaken after delivery. “When he came out of the OT, he could not look me in the eye. He just said, ‘Look, you have a son, and we will have to keep him in the ICU for a few days.’ I asked why he was being so serious about such a good news, but he gave me no answers,” Sachin stated.
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The baby was placed on CPAP support at Fortis Hospital Shalimar Bagh, but the parents allege they were never told why it was necessary. “They even asked us, after discharge, where we would be taking the child,” Sachin said. “I told them he was a newborn—how could there be any question of shifting him?”
Even when the child was discharged, the family was assured there were no neurological problems. “The discharge summary itself said everything was fine,” Sachin added. “But the fact is there before all of us today—our child in fact had suffered from a very serious brain damage. Later we got to know that this happened in and around the time of his birth.”
Sapna Jain along with her baby | Photo courtesy: Family
For Sapna Jain, the assurances only deepened the shock. She recalled, “Doctors kept telling me he was just a preterm baby and needed more care in the NICU. They said we lacked experience in handling such a small child and kept him there for ten to twelve days. Every time I asked, they repeated that everything was fine.”
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But when the couple finally brought Devarsh home, troubling signs began almost immediately.
“After discharge, he started having twitches, unnatural movements in his hands and legs,” Sachin said. “When we went back to the doctor, we were told to ignore it, that it was nothing. So we tried not to worry. But after seven months, he lost all his milestones. He stopped responding to us, stopped recognising us, everything regressed. That’s when the same doctor at Fortis Hospital Shalimar Bagh finally said we should see a paediatric neurologist.”
Parents told The Probe that medical tests revealed that the brain injury had occurred around the time of birth—confirming their worst fears and setting them on a painful journey for the next 8 years that began at Fortis Hospital Shalimar Bagh.
Parents Allege Medical Negligence and Unqualified Doctors
As months passed, the Jains realised that their son’s health was deteriorating. “We slowly started noticing these things because he wasn’t meeting any milestones,” recalled Sapna Jain. “A child’s first milestone is neck-holding, but that wasn’t there either. I thought since he was preterm, it would just take more time. But then even eye contact regressed—he started avoiding us altogether. That’s when we knew something was very wrong.”
When they took Devarsh to pediatrician Dr. Vivek Jain, the news was devastating. “He pulled him and checked, but there was no neck-holding at all,” Sapna said. “Then the doctor told us there was a major problem and suggested we go to a neurologist. This, after earlier assuring us he was ‘100 out of 100’ healthy when discharged from Fortis Hospital Shalimar Bagh.”
For Sachin, the shock deepened years later when he learned more about the doctors involved. “They withheld all the relevant medical records which would have helped us,” he alleged. “Only in 2023, after five years of efforts, we found out that both doctors in the Neonatal ICU who treated Devarsh were not even qualified specialists. They were fake super specialists kept in top positions at Fortis Hospital Shalimar Bagh. If they had told us on time, at least we could have shown our child to the right doctor. But instead, he was left untreated, and every seizure caused more brain damage from thereon.”
The parents say they repeatedly requested full records from the hospital to share with international experts but were denied. “When a patient pays the full bill, the hospital has no right to keep a lien on medical documents,” Sachin said. “At discharge, complete records should always be given to the family, whether they ask for them or not. But Fortis Hospital Shalimar Bagh withheld everything, obstructing our son’s treatment.”
Their concerns received a measure of validation in May 2025. The Delhi Medical Council issued a letter to the medical superintendent at Fortis Hospital Shalimar Bagh, noting that one doctor, Dr. Akhilesh Singh, held only an MBBS and could not claim specialist status. The council also cited information from the UK’s General Medical Council regarding Dr. Vivek Jain. Both doctors were instructed to refrain from calling themselves neonatologists or super specialists, and even their pediatric credentials remain under review.
“A few days ago, the Delhi Medical Council released a letter saying these doctors’ qualifications are in question,” said Sachin. “They’ve been barred from practicing as super specialists. But this should have been identified years ago. As a regulatory body, they should have acted swiftly, instead of letting families like ours suffer.”
Despite that letter, the council itself was dissolved weeks later amid allegations of irregularities, leaving the Jains feeling further betrayed.
For the family, every day remains a reminder of what they lost. “Almost every day is painful,” Sachin said. “Sometimes when he smiles, we feel encouraged. But then it vanishes. We always try to stay positive, but doctors tell us we just have to live with this. For eight years, we’ve been fighting two battles—caring for our child and seeking justice.”
Sapna added, “In the discharge summary, they specifically mentioned there were no neurological disorders. They knew the truth about the baby, and they hid it from us. If they had told us earlier, our child could have received timely treatment. I wish no other family ever has to go through this. Action must be taken against the unqualified doctors who are still working in the hospital today.”
The couple says their only hope now is to prevent other parents from enduring what they have endured. Their fight, they insist, is not just for Devarsh—but for every child whose future depends on accountability in institutions like these.