The Delhi High Court on September 19 directed the Delhi government to take action against illegal pathology laboratories and diagnostic centres here.

A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V. Kameswar Rao said that running such illegal labs and centres was a "serious" matter and called for their inspection. The bench also asked the government to file an affidavit to indicate how the labs and centres were to be regulated till a law on their functioning was formulated. The court listed the matter for November 30.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation by activist Bijon Kumar Misra, who pleaded for appropriate government steps to ensure that labs and diagnostic centres maintained quality as the line of treatment of patients depended solely on their reports. The petitioner's counsel Shashank Deo Sudhi and Shashi Bhushan sought the urgent implementation of the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act of 2010 in the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The petitioner claimed that only 10 per cent of the labs and centres operating in Delhi were accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories, an autonomous body of the Quality Council of India.