The Delhi High Court has issued notices to the Health Ministry and others on a plea by a man refused treatment in two Delhi hospitals despite suffering serious head injuries.

The court asked the Ministry Secretary, Jai Prakash Narayan Trauma Centre and the Director of RML Hospital here to file their replies and listed the matter for April 23. The court was hearing on January 21 a plea by Amit Jain, 32, a resident of east Delhi working in a private company in Gurugram. Amit's counsel Dhananjai Jain urged the court to order disciplinary action against the erring doctors and paramedical staff.

The counsel challenged the alleged inaction and dereliction of duty of doctors at the Trauma Centre and RML Hospital and questioned the quality of services provided in government hospitals. Amit suffered serious injuries in the head and other vital parts of his body due to assault on October 21, 2017, in Shamli in Uttar Pradesh and was taken to the Jai Prakash Narayan Trauma Centre. He was allegedly not given proper treatment and turned away in the night without even an assessment of his medical condition.

Thereafter, he was taken to the RML Hospital where a doctor allegedly asked him to take treatment at home, dubbing his injuries as "minor", even though he had suffered multiple facial fractures and head injuries. Thereafter, his relatives approached Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, where Amit was admitted for 10 days and also underwent an operation.

The petitioner pointed out to the distinction of private VIP wards and general wards in government hospitals and said such discrimination violates the fundamental rights of the injured being differentiated on grounds of his being either a very important person or a common man and consequent denial of medical treatment in cases of emergency.