Article 21 of the constitution guarantees protection of life and liberty to every citizen as well as non-citizens. Right to health care and medical assistance is integral to the right to life and the state has a constitutional obligation to provide health facilities. Failure of a government and other hospital to provide a patient timely medical treatment results in violation of the patient‘s right to life.

A prospective observational study was conducted over a period of six months from I^st   October 2014 to 31^st March 2015 in the Accident & Emergency medicine department of Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Srinagar. The data was collected as per the pretested and predesigned checklist and the various bottlenecks in management of these cases were identified.

The study found that problem related to preservation of evidence was a significant factor affecting the management of medicolegal cases. Proper labeling of medicolegal case files was not being done in many of the cases and a significant proportion of cases were not being entered in the medicolegal register. In many of the cases police was not intimated about receipt of the medicolegal case while as in most of the medicolegal cases police was not informed of the discharge/death/LAMA of the patient. Details of the injuries and details of doctor conducting the examination of the medicolegal cases were not mentioned in many of medicolegal case files. Medicolegal autopsy was not being done in any of the cases where it was recommended to ascertain the cause of death.

Keywords: Medicolegal, Bottlenecks, Injury, Autopsy.