Supreme Court To Hear PIL Seeking To Monitor If Hospitals Built On Govt Concessions Provide Free Aid To EWS/BPL Patients

The Supreme Court today (August 29) agreed to consider a PIL on the lack of free treatment for EWS and BPL patients in private hospitals built on government lands or with government concessions.The bench of CJI BR Gavai and Justices NV Anjaria and Alok Aradhe issued notice to the Union of India, all States and Union Territories in the matter. The petition is filed by a Magsaysay Awardee and nationally renowned social activist,Sandeep Pandey. The plea highlights the systemic violations by such private hospitals who were given public lands at concessional or token rates upon the condition that they would provide free medical aid to patients in the EWS/BPL category. The plea states : " In multiple States—including Delhi, Maharashtra, Haryana, Odisha, Telangana, West Bengal and others—successive audit reports, court-monitored inquiries, and government notifications have revealed persistent and systemic non-compliance by hospitals with the stipulated percentages of free treatment, ranging typically from 10% of inpatient beds and 25% of outpatient consultations."Examples Of Systemic Failures Across Major States: The plea highlighted that across multiple states, private hospitals granted land or Floor Space Index (FSI) concessions in return for free or subsidised treatment obligations have consistently failed to comply. In Delhi, many hospitals were required to reserve one-third of their beds for free treatment but did not, leading the Delhi High Court in Social Jurist v. GNCTD (2007) to censure the authorities for years of non-monitoring and to direct penalties, later upheld by the Supreme Court. Similarly, in Maharashtra, the 2016 CAG Report exposed widespread defaults: premier hospitals, despite receiving additional FSI under DCR, provided only half of their mandated free services. The CAG also flagged diversion of funds meant for indigent patients.Same issue is observed in other states. In Haryana, a 2018 subject committee report revealed that no monitoring meetings were held for nearly a decade, with one hospital treating just 118 EWS patients free of cost out of 64,000 admissions in 2017. Odisha's 2013–14 CAG Report documented that hospitals which had received land worth ₹45.68 crore at concessional rates, failed to meet free-treatment obligations, while six promoters illegally diverted their allotted hospital land for residential and commercial projects. These findings across states expose systemic lapses in enforcement and large-scale denial of healthcare benefits promised to weaker sections of society. The following reliefs have been sought : A. Uniform enforcement of lease or policy conditions across States mandating free treatment in hospitals allotted public land.B. Constitution of empowered monitoring authorities in each State/UT with periodic public reporting obligations.C. Recovery of equivalent monetary value in case of violations, and cancellation/resumption of land in persistent cases.D. Creation of a centralized public portal or dashboard for real-time display of free bed availability and patient data compliance.E. Any other direction deemed appropriate by this Hon'ble Court to secure the rights of EWS/BPL patients and prevent abuse of public resources.F. Non segregation of beds and facilities for EWS/weaker Section. The petition has been filed with the assistence of AOR Shahshank Singh. Sr Advocate Sanjay Parikh appeared for the petitioner. Case Details : SANDEEP PANDEY vs. UNION OF INDIA | W.P.(C) No. 000808 / 2025Click Here To Read/Download OrderRelated - Supreme Court Asks Union & Delhi Govts To Inquire If Indraprastha Apollo Hospital Provided Free Treatment To Poor In Last 5 Years

Supreme Court To Hear PIL Seeking To Monitor If Hospitals Built On Govt Concessions Provide Free Aid To EWS/BPL Patients

Anmol Kaur Bawa

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