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Synopsis

The Bombay High Court has asked the State Government to file an affidavit regarding the patients being treated outside hospitals in the Buldhana District of Maharashtra.

The division bench of the high court comprising Chief Justice Devendra K Upadhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor took up the matter today after it was mentioned by the Amicus Curiae Advocate Mohit Khanna in suo moto PIL being heard by the high court pertaining to deaths in the state-run hospitals in the district of Nanded and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district of Maharashtra.

Khanna mentioned the matter while citing a news report that indicated 150 people had become ill in Buldhana after consuming prasad in a religious ceremony.

Government Pleader PP Kakade informed the bench that all 150 individuals sought medical attention at the 30-bedded Bibi Hospital, and due to the overwhelming number, they had to be treated outside the hospital premises, despite having adequate staff and medicines.

In response, the bench questioned Kakade about why the patients were not transported to the nearest district hospital.

“How far is the district hospital from where the incident occurred? What if some patient suffered seriously and required urgent medical care?,” asked the court.

Kakade responded to this and said, “The district hospital is 100 kilometres away. We could have transported them to a larger hospital. Even in the recent incident, everyone got discharged the next morning,” Kakade said.

The division bench, however, directed Kakade to submit the details on the affidavit and scheduled the next hearing for after 10 days.

Khanna submitted that the Delhi High Court had established an expert committee to address issues related to infrastructure in both rural and urban hospitals. The bench responded and said,

“You cannot compare Delhi with Maharashtra. What is the population of Delhi? You show us the Delhi HC judgment during the next hearing,” the court said.

Case title: High Court on Its Own Motion