The Delhi High Court on September 17 sought response of three major private hospitals on a plea alleging violation of court order on providing free treatment to 25% OPD and 10% IPD patients from the economically weaker section (EWS) category.



The three hospitals have been allotted land by the government at subsidised rates and are mandated under the Delhi law to provide free treatment to EWS category patients. Justice Siddharth Mridul observed that earlier directions of the court have to be complied with and free treatment should be provided to EWS patients.

The court issued notice to the managing director of Mool Chand Khairati Ram Trust, which runs Mool Chand Hospital, Chairman of St Stephen's Hospital and Chief Executive Officer of Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre. It listed the matter for further hearing on October 23.

The court was hearing a plea by NGO Social Jurist, filed through advocate Ashok Agarwal, seeking contempt action against the three hospitals for "deliberate and intentional disobedience" of the March 22, 2007 order of the Delhi High Court and July 9, 2018 verdict of the Supreme Court.

The counsel for Mool Chand Hospital stated that they were complying with the court's earlier directions to provide free treatment to patients of EWS category. In the 2007 judgement, the high court had directed that all the 20 hospitals, which were party in the matter, and other identically situated hospitals will have to strictly comply with the terms of free patient treatment to indigent/ poor patients.

It had said that provide free treatment to 25 per cent OPD and 10 per cent IPD patients from the EWS category. In the July verdict, the apex court had said the private hospitals here, allotted land at subsidised rates, cannot do away with the mandatory requirement of providing free treatment to 25 per cent OPD and 10 per cent IPD patients from EWS category.