SC Warns Apollo Hospital to Not Cheat in Free Treatment Quota to Poor

The Supreme Court ordered the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in Delhi to fulfil its commitment under the lease agreement to provide free treatment to poor patients; failing to do so can cause the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) to take over its management. As per the agreement that led to the establishment of the hospital, it shall provide free facilities of medical diagnostics and other necessary care for not less than one-third of the total capacity of 600 beds. The hospital is also required to provide free of cost full medical diagnosis and other necessary facilities to 40% of the patients attending the OPD.

SC’s Stern Remarks

“If we find out that poor people are not provided free treatment, we will hand over the hospital to AIIMS,” stated a bench of Justice Surya Kant and NK Singh on Tuesday. The bench was hearing an appeal filed by the Indraprastha Medical Corporation Limited (IMCL), which also manages the hospital. The appeal by IMCL challenged the Delhi High Court order dated September 22, 2009, which said that, “There has been hardly any implementation of the conditions of the agreement providing for treatment to indoor and outdoor patients…. Reports which clearly show that the IMCL has flouted the conditions with impunity.”

The Supreme Court has also asked the central and Delhi governments to set up a joint inspection team to “find out if poor people are being treated there or if this land has been grabbed for private interest.”