New Delhi, Sept. 14 -- The Supreme Court has put a final judicial seal on the liability of doctors and hospitals under consumer protection law, as it dismissed a curative petition challenging its landmark 1995 ruling that had brought medical services within the ambit of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA). A five-judge bench of justices Vikram Nath, BV Nagarathna, MM Sundresh, Prashant Kumar Mishra and KV Viswanathan dismissed the curative petition filed by Dr Rajeev D Joshi of the Medico Legal Society of India, holding that no case was made out within the parameters laid down for entertaining a curative petition. The brief order, passed on September 9, effectively closes the latest challenge to the 1995 judgment in Indian Medical Association Vs VP Shantha, under which patients can approach consumer forums against doctors and hospitals for deficiency in medical services. "We have gone through the curative petition and the relevant documents. In our opinion, no case is made out within the parameters indicated" in the SC's 2002 judgment in Rupa Ashok Hurra Vs Ashok Hurra, the bench said, dismissing the plea. The development comes after top court in November 2024 declined to reconsider the Shantha ruling, in a reference triggered by its judgment excluding lawyers from the CPA's purview. The issue had arisen after a three-judge bench was asked to examine whether the 1995 ruling required reconsideration in light of the court's decision that legal professionals could not be proceeded against under consumer law for deficiency in service. The bench, however, held the reference itself was unnecessary. It pointed out the earlier judgment on lawyers had specifically dealt with the legal profession and that the exclusion of lawyers from the CPA did not, by itself, warrant reopening the law governing medical professionals. "The question as to whether the other professionals excluding legal profession could be covered under the Act can be considered in appropriate cases, having a factual foundation," the bench had said in 2024. The court also underlined the distinct nature of the relationship between medical professionals and patients while declining to disturb the Shantha judgment. The 1995 ruling had held that medical services rendered for consideration constituted "service" under the consumer law, making doctors and hospitals answerable before consumer fora for deficiencies....