Gujarat High Court Forms Panel To Probe Into Cases Of 2 Pregnant Women Who Were Denied Medical Care By Hospitals

Noting that many such cases are coming to Court’s notice that unless an amount is paid, hospitals are not admitting the patients, especially pregnant women, the division bench comprising Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Ashutosh J. Shastri appointed a panel to probe into the matter, to be led by retired HC Judge, Justice Harsha Devani.

The panel will also have two other members, who are: Dr. Lavina Sinha, DCP, Ahmedabad, and IAS Remya Mohan, Mission Director of the National Health Mission.

Significantly, stressing that the doctors are required to show compassion toward the poor people, the bench orally remarked thus:

“In government hospitals, who will go? It is only the poor people. Those who can afford it, will go to bigger hospitals. It is they (poor people) who require real compassion and real good treatment. The Doctors take Hippocratic oath, I don't know how they live up to it…Very saddening.”

Pursuant to this remark, when the Government counsel requested the bench to have a look at their affidavit, the bench was prompted to observe further that the averments in the affidavit are like you cry and we will wipe your tears or you scratch my back and I will scratch yours.

Further, the Court went ahead to appoint Senior Advocate Asim Pandya as the amicus curiae in the matter.

It may be noted that the PIL plea before the Court refers to two incidents that took place in January and February 2022.

In the Feb 2022 incident, a pregnant woman was forced to give birth to a child, who died later on, outside the hospital after she was denied admission to the L.G. Hospital in Ahmedabad, which is managed by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.

Regarding the January 2022 incident, the PIL plea claimed that a pregnant woman was asked for money by a private hospital and since she could not pay the same, she was denied admission to the hospital forcing her to deliver the child under the stairs of the hospital.