The NHRC has issued notices to the Gujarat government and the state's police chief over reports that a "drunken" doctor allegedly performed a C-section on a woman, leading to the death of both the mother and her baby at a government hospital in Botad.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in a statement issued Wednesday observed that doctors are expected to always maintain high standards of professionalism and devotion to duty, but in the instant case, it appears that the doctor showed "carelessness and criminal negligence" by performing a Caesarean in an inebriated condition.

"The NHRC has taken suo motu cognisance of media reports that a drunken doctor performed a C-section on a woman in an advance stage of pregnancy leading to the death of both the mother and her child at the government-run Sonawala hospital in Botad on November 26," it said.

The rights panel has issued notices to the chief secretary and the director general of police of Gujarat, seeking a detailed report as well as the status of the criminal case registered against the doctor concerned in four weeks. The commission has observed that the incident, if true, amounts to gross violation of human rights of the victims. "According to the media reports, carried Wednesday, the police have arrested the alleged erring doctor on the complaint of the victims' relatives. His blood sample has been sent for testing as, at the time of his arrest, he was found drunk," it said.