Chhattisgarh High Court Directs Authorities To Decide Prisoner's Parole On Medical Grounds, Says Right To Life Includes Timely Treatment
While directing the competent authorities to expeditiously decide the parole application of a 68-year old prisoner suffering from a serious medical condition requiring imminent treatment, the Chhattisgarh High Court has emphasised that the right to life, guaranteed under Article 21, includes within its ambit the right to timely and adequate medical treatment.A Division Bench comprising...
While directing the competent authorities to expeditiously decide the parole application of a 68-year old prisoner suffering from a serious medical condition requiring imminent treatment, the Chhattisgarh High Court has emphasised that the right to life, guaranteed under Article 21, includes within its ambit the right to timely and adequate medical treatment.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal was dealing with a writ petition filed by the prisoner (petitioner)- who was stated to be suffering from a serious medical condition called gangrene.
While his toe was already amputated, doctors at a Government hospital informed him that the infection had spread further, and that amputation of his legs might be required. Being apprehensive about the line of treatment and having lost faith in the government hospital, the petitioner desired to seek treatment from a private hospital, for which he applied for parole. While the application was forwarded to the District Magistrate (Respondent 3) from the jail authorities, it remained pending, prompting the petitioner to approach the High Court.
Against this backdrop, the Division Bench held,
“... this Court is of the considered view that the petitioner is suffering from a serious medical condition requiring urgent attention. The medical documents placed on record indicate that he has already undergone amputation of a toe and is presently facing the risk of further amputation due to the spread of infection. The right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India encompasses the right to timely and adequate medical treatment. Though parole cannot be claimed as a matter of absolute right, the competent authority is under a statutory obligation to consider and decide the petitioner's application within a reasonable time, particularly when the same is founded on serious medical grounds.”
In his petition, the petitioner had submitted that inaction of respondent authorities in not deciding the petitioner's application for grant of parole for medical treatment was wholly arbitrary, illegal and violative of his fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14 and 21. He also submitted that the ambit of Article 21 includes the right to proper and adequate medical treatment of one's choice, and that he was facing imminent risk of amputation of legs, medical care of which cannot be merely denied on account of administrative apathy.
In contrast, the State submitted that the petitioner was a convicted prisoner undergoing sentence. It further argued that parole cannot be granted as a matter of right, and informed the Court that there was no deliberate inaction or arbitrariness, and that the State was fully committed to ensuring necessary medical care to the petitioner within the prison framework.
Disposing of the petition, the Court, emphasising on the urgency of the matter, directed the respondent authorities to decide the petitioner's pending application for grant of parole within 10 days.
Case Number: WPCR No. 133 of 2026
Case Title: Dheluram v. State of Chhattisgarh