Karnataka High Court Orders Immediate Upgradation Of DIMHANS To Higher Psychiatry Centre

A division bench of Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum in its order said,

"We want to emphasise that this hospital shall be upgraded as a higher psychiatric center at the earliest as the government itself has announced for upgrading. The delay due to lack of funds or for any other reason shall not be there. All steps shall be taken in this regard so that it may be made operational from March 1, 2022."

Additional Advocate General Dhyan Chinnappa informed the Court that the medical superintendent has been appointed.

Further he filed an affidavit stating that the process of installation of an MRI machine at the hospital would be completed by March 1, 2022.

The bench however said during the course of hearing,

"We are not satisfied with the explanation given for the delay in implementation of the project particularly installation of MRI machine. However, we are made to understand that a three months mandatory period is required as it (machine) has to be imported from outside the country, for which the order would be placed by December 1. Let the machine be installed and made operational by March 1, 2022. As undertaken by the Principal secretary, Medical Education Department."

The direction was given during the hearing of a public interest litigation filed by the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority in the year 1996.

The court in its order dated March 5, 2020 had directed the state government to take immediate steps for procuring a MRI machine of requisite specifications for the use of DIMHANS. It had also observed that that the post of Medical Superintendent in an important institution like DIMHANS cannot be kept vacant.

In its order dated October 5, 2021, the court after noting that compliance to previous order was not done had said,

"It is really unfortunate that nothing has been done so far. No compliance report has been filed, no MRI machine has been installed, no Medical Superintendent has been appointed so far. The Hospital in question is a State run Hospital and it caters to the needs of poor people who do not have money for treatment in private Hospitals and therefore, now this Court is left with no other choice except to direct personal appearance of the Principal Secretary, Health Department in the matter."

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Case Title: Karnataka State Legal Services Authority v. State Of Karnataka

Case No: WP 18741/1996