PIL in SC against AAP govt order to treat only Delhi residents in govt, pvt hospitals

A PIL was filed in the apex court on Tuesday which seeks quashing of the Delhi government's order and a direction to the authorities to provide facilities in the hospitals to everyone.

New Delhi: A Public Interest Litigation was filed in the Supreme Court on Tuesday challenging the Delhi government's order directing all state-run and also private hospitals to admit only “bonafide” residents of the national capital for treatment.

The PIL filed by lawyer Sarthak Chaturvedi seeks to set aside the June 7 order of AAP govt's Department of Health and Family Welfare, as the decision is arbitrary and in violation of Article 14 which guarantees equality but also Article 21, Protection of life and personal liberty.

"The impugned judgement notification creates a class bias among citizens with those who are residents of Delhi, those who are 'bona fide' residents of Delhi and the rest entire country. That this is not only in violation of Article 14 but also violates right to movement under Article 19(1)(d) and right to settle under Article 19(1)(e) of the Constitution to settle in any part of the country," read the PIL.

Calling the order discriminatory, Chaturvedi has sought quashing of the Delhi government's order and a direction to the authorities to provide facilities in the hospitals to everyone.

"The impugned notification/order is in gross breach of cooperative federalism as the capital of the country is being cut off from the rest of the country in terms of health care and medical treatment," added the PIL.

However, Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Monday overturned Delhi government's order on testing only those showing COVID-19 symptoms and said asymptomatic cases and high-risk contacts of a virus patient will also be tested.