Nagpur: In a landmark ruling, the Nagpur bench of Bombay high court on Friday made it clear that the state government can’t fix the rates for non-Covid patients in private hospitals.
While providing a big respite to the private hospitals statewide, a division bench comprising justices Ravi Deshpande and Pushpa Ganediwala quashed and set aside two government notifications of April 30 and May 4 fixing rates for non-Covid patients in such establishments.
The bench also quashed Nagpur Municipal Coporation’s (NMC) issued by then commissioner Tukaram Mundhe on June 4 for fixing rates for non-Covid patients in private hospitals based on the government's notification.
“The state legislature isn’t competent under public health and sanitation, hospitals and dispensaries in List II (State List) of Schedule VII under the Constitution of India to either frame any law or issue any direction putting a cap on regulating rates chargeable by private hospitals for non-Covid patients.”
The judges clarified that neither the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, nor the ‘Maharashtra COVID-19 Regulations, 2020’, empower the government to issue directives in relation to non-Covid patients in 20% isolation and non-isolation beds in private hospitals/health care providers and nursing homes. “The government isn’t competent to issue such directions regarding non-Covid patients in exercise of power under sub-section (1) of Section 65 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005,” they added.
The ruling came while hearing a petition by Dr Pradeep Arora, a paediatrician by profession and running a nursing home, and Vidarbha Hospital Association. The petitioners had challenged NMC's notices to private hospitals over alleged over-charging of fees from Covid-19 and non-Covid patients in violation of May 21 notification. Questioning the l