NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Centre to identify and prepare a list of hospitals where Covid-19 patients can be treated free of cost or at a minimal fee. A bench, headed by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde, asked the Centre to submit the list and slated the hearing for next week.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, argued that the capping the treatment cost or providing free treatment is a policy issue and requires to be decided by the government. The petition was filed by advocate Sachin Jain who claimed that many private hospitals are asking for as much as Rs 12 lakh for the Covid-19 treatment and has sought directions from the court for the government to issue notification regarding nationwide cost regulations for the treatment at private hospitals.

In his plea, Jain refers to news reports alleging inflated billing by certain private hospitals and submits that “when the nation is fighting a battle against the pandemic, all such private hospitals, which are running on public land (allotted at concessional rates) or are running under the category of charitable institutions, should be called upon to provide the hospitalisation and treatment to the Covid-19 patients pro bono publico/non-profit basis”.

The petition further asserts that tariffs of other private hospitals should also be regulated by the government on a fixed cost basis while referring to a 2007 judgment in which the Delhi High Court had condemned the conduct of various hospitals in the national capital for not adhering to their social commitments despite receiving benefits from the government.