Income Threshold For Claiming Financial Aid Under Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi Prima Facie Unreasonable: Delhi High Court

Initiating a suo motu case, the Delhi High Court has recently observed that prima facie, the threshold income for claiming benefit under the Central Government's Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) umbrella scheme is “not reasonable.”

The scheme provides a one-time financial assistance to poor patients living below the State or Union Territory threshold poverty line and suffering from life-threatening diseases relating to heart, kidney etc. and for their treatment at Government hospitals.

A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh noted that the threshold income under the scheme for the benefit of residents of Delhi is Rs.1571 (for rural) and Rs. 1605 (for urban areas).

“This Court is of the prima facie view that the eligibility criteria under the RAN Scheme is not reasonable,” the court said.

The bench registered a suo motu PIL on the recommendation of the High Court's PIL Committee in pursuance to a letter received from one Suresh Kumar Raghav in September last year. The man sought a grant of Rs. 9,81,620 for his kidney transplant treatment under the RAN scheme.

The letter stated that the man was a Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD-5) patient who earlier received assistance of Rs.6,45,000 in October 2018 from the Union Government under the RAN scheme for his kidney transplant.

The hospital informed the man that under the RAN, assistance was only given once and that he did not fulfil the eligibility criteria specified under the scheme.

The bench noted that the man's annual income was Rs.96,000 as per his income certificate, which was well above the threshold limit on an annual basis.

The court issued notice to the Union of India through the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi Government as well as Raghav.

The court also appointed Advocate Ankit Jain as Amicus Curiae in the matter and directed the Registry to supply the paper book to him.

The matter will now be heard on July 04.

Title: COURT ON ITS OWN MOTION v. UNION OF INDIA AND ORS

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