The Delhi High Court on Friday sought responses of the AAP government and the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute on a PIL alleging that the hospital has not provided free treatment to poor patients in the last two decades.
A Bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V.K. Rao issued notices to the Delhi government, the hospital and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and sought their stand by January 28, 2019 on the plea by an NGO.
NGO Social Jurist, in its plea filed through advocate Ashok Aggarwal, has contended that the hospital was allotted land by the DDA on concessional rates on the condition that it will provide free treatment to poor patients to the extent of 10% in In Patient Department (IPD) and 25% in Out Patient Department (OPD).
Mr. Aggarwal told the Bench that the High Court in 2007 and the Supreme Court in July 2018 had said that hospitals allotted land on concessional rates have to provide free treatment to poor patients to the extent of 10% in the IPD and 25% in the OPD.
However, in the last two decades, the hospital has not provided free treatment to any poor patient, the plea has alleged and claimed that in this manner it has earned “unwarranted profits”, which it was liable to pay to the government for the good of the society.
The NGO has sought directions to the hospital to forthwith provide free treatment to poor patients as per the land allotment conditions.
Recovery of profits
It has also urged the court to direct the Delhi government to initiate process for recovery of the “unwarranted profits” earned by the hospital by not providing free treatment to poor patients.
Apart from this, the plea has also sought action against the hospital by the Delhi government and the DDA for not providing free treatment to poor patients.