Bring West Bengal AIIMS At Par With AIIMS Delhi: Calcutta High Court Tells Centre Over Lack Of Post-Mortem Facilities

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday commented that the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Kalyani, West Bengal, should be brought up to the standard of the AIIMS in Delhi or Rishikesh.

A single bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh made these observations while hearing a plea wherein he had directed the post-mortem of a minor girl who was raped and murdered in Bengal's Jaynagar area, to take place at the AIIMS hospital in Kalyani.

At today's hearing, the Court was informed that the hospital lacked the infrastructure for conducting a post-mortem, which would have to be conducted at a nearby hospital.

In hearing this submission, the Court remarked:

The word “All India Institute of Medical Sciences” refers to a premier brand health organization, where common man can have the services of best of the doctors available in the Country. This is surprising that till date there is no infrastructure for conducting post mortem examination at AIIMS, Kalyani and the infrastructure of a tertiary referral hospital like J.N.M. Hospital, Kalyani had to be used for the purposes of post mortem examination by the doctors of AIIMS, Kalyani. The institution has been offering courses to best of the students across the Country at the Graduation and Post-graduation level in the field of medical sciences.

"So far as the services to the citizen at large is concerned, the confidence must be reposed that every infrastructure and facility is made available within the boundary and premises of AIIMS, Kalyani. The institute is not restricted for only academic purposes but also for rendering services to patients who are suffering from acute diseases. If an AIIMS is situated within a State the common man at large should be benefited by the services of the best of the doctors who are ready, but they are not having a support system to execute their ability," it added.

Accordingly, the Court directed the Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India to ascertain the dearth in infrastructure in the institution being AIIMS, Kalyani so that the infrastructure therein is built at par with AIIMS, Delhi or AIIMS, Rishikesh.

It further directed these steps to be completed preferably by 31st December, 2025, and directed the State to cooperate in the same.

Case: The State of West Bengal -vs- Union of India & Anr

Case No: CRR 4515 of 2024

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Cal) 222

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