'Important Issue Of Significant Public Importance': Delhi High Court Refers Plea Seeking Hassle Free Treatment Of EWS Patients To PIL Bench

The Delhi High Court recently converted a petition seeking hassle free treatment of patients belonging to below poverty line (BPL) category and economically weaker sections (EWS) in government hospitals into a PIL, observing that the matter involves issue of “significant public importance.”

Justice Navin Chawla noted that though the petition was moved in 2014, it could not be proceeded further after January 2018 due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.

“Now, as the petitioner is praying for leave of this Court to withdraw the present petition, in my opinion, as this petition has raised an important issue of significant public importance, the present petition should be converted and treated as a Public Interest Litigation,” the court said.

It added: “Subject to the orders of Hon’ble the Chief Justice, the petition be re-numbered as a Public Interest Litigation, and be listed before the appropriate Division Bench of this Court, on 3rd August, 2023.”

In 2015, the court had directed the parties to make submissions so that a single-window mechanism can be put in place at each public hospital for EWS and BPL patients. Advocate T. Singhdev was appointed as an Amicus Curiae in the matter in 2016.

Singhdev had suggested that each hospital should have a designated officer to whom applications for assistance can be made by the patients and that the decision as to whether such patient is eligible for financial assistance should be left to the Medical Superintendent or CEO of the hospital along with Heads of the Department.

The court had also suggested that revolving funds may be established for taking care of recurring expenditure of the patients suffering from chronic and rare diseases.

The Delhi Government was then directed to examine the suggestions and file a status report indicating the status of implementation and the time frame within which the same can be implemented.

Advocates Ashok Agarwal, Kumar Utkarsh and Manoj Kumar appeared for the petitioner.

Advocates Satya Ranjan Swain and Kautilya Birat appeared for AIIMS. CGSC Monika Arora with Advocates Yash Tyagi and Subhrodeep appeared for Union of India. Advocates Tushar Sannu and Devvrat Tiwari appeared for Delhi Government.

Advocates Abhijit Chakravarty, Tanishqu Srivastava, Bhanu Gulati, Ramanpreet Kaur, Aabhash Sukhramani, Anum Hussain appeared for Amicus curiae T. Singhdev.

Title: SARVESH v. ALL INDIA INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES & ORS.

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