The Rajasthan High Court has closed a PIL that raised issues regarding inadequacy of medical facilities, lack of requisite infrastructure, and failure on part of the State to ensure timely medical assistance, after taking into account the affidavit filed by the State with details of the steps taken/proposed in this regard.

The division bench of Chief Justice Sanjay K. Agrawal and Justice Sameer Jain observed that it was expected of the State to ensure sincere efforts towards effective implementation of the measure already undertaken and to address the remaining deficiencies in public healthcare.

“…considering the significance of the issue involved and the fact that the availability of adequate, accessible and timely medical facilities is intrinsically linked with the fundamental right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India…It is further expected that the respondent-State shall remain vigilant in ensuring that the measures undertaken are not merely confined to administrative assurances, but culminate in tangible and effective improvement in the delivery of healthcare services across the State of Rajasthan.”

While raising the persistent and systemic deficiencies in the medical and healthcare facilities across Rajasthan, the PIL submitted that there were several instances where patients had succumbed to their ailments/injuries, not due to the severity of the same, but owing to non-availability of appropriate medical assistance within the crucial time.

It was further highlighted that despite having submitted a report to the State, in 2024, regarding the deficiencies in healthcare, no effective corrective measure were seen in last 2 years, which was not merely an administrative lapse but a continued inaction. This was significant in light of the fact that it had direct bearing on the right to life under Article 21.

On the contrary, the State submitted that, as directed earlier, it had filed an affidavit detailing the steps and measures taken to address the concerned in this regard.

It was highlighted that post the fire incident at the Trauma Centra of SMS hospital, multiple steps were proposed, including an allocation of Rs. 10 Crore for 2026-27, towards facilitating repairs and maintenance.

Further, it was submitted that the State government had adopted various measures for strengthening overall medical infrastructure across the State, especially regarding the procurement, quality control, storage and distribution of medicines and surgical supplies.

“State Government and the concerned authorities had undertaken various steps towards addressing the deficiencies in the public healthcare infrastructure, strengthening fire safety mechanisms, ensuring quality procurement of medicines and maintaining compliance with the prescribed biomedical waste management standards.”

After hearing the submissions, the Court held that based on the affidavit filed by the State, no further directions were required.

Accordingly, in the background of the above-mentioned observation, the PIL was closed.