Cardiac Care Collapse at Jammu Hospital: High Court Initiates Suo Motu Case

The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has taken suo motu cognizance of a reported collapse of cardiac services at the Government Super Speciality Hospital in Jammu after learning that emergency procedures had come to a standstill owing to unpaid government dues that allegedly touched nearly Rs. 30 crore.

Court was dealing with a clutch of long-pending public interest petitions concerning the state of medical infrastructure across the Union Territory.

A bench of Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal was examining four PILs, among which one dated back more than a decade, seeking directions to the administration to improve healthcare facilities in the capital cities and urban areas and to ensure proper regulation of private nursing homes and medical centres.

The petitions also demand accountability mechanisms that align with the guidelines of the Ministry of Health and the Medical Council of India.

Advocate S.S. Ahmed, appointed as amicus curiae, informed the court that despite the filing of nearly fifteen compliance reports by the government over the years, the ground situation had not changed in any meaningful way. He sought time to compile all material placed before the court and present a consolidated affidavit outlining the issues that still remain unaddressed.

However, when the amicus placed before the court a news report from Excelsior about a crisis in the cardiac unit of the Government Super Speciality Hospital, the bench learnt that suppliers of key devices such as stents, pacemakers, balloons and other cath-lab materials had stopped supplies because nearly Rs. 30 crore in the Ayushman Bharat PMJAY scheme payments had not been cleared. Court noted that this stoppage had completely paralysed the hospital’s cath-lab operations.

A facility that typically performs around twenty-five heart procedures in a day could not conduct even a single intervention, leaving cardiac patients at “serious risk", the bench highlighted.

Court described the situation as “highly sensitive,” observing that such an impasse in a super-speciality hospital raises grave concerns about access to emergency healthcare in the region.

Taking note of the urgency, the bench decided to take suo motu action.

It directed the Registrar (Judicial) to immediately register a separate suo motu petition titled Court on its own motion vs. Nemo and list it before the same bench for further orders the same day.

Meanwhile, court deferred further proceedings in the original healthcare-related PILs to 29 December 2025.

The amicus is expected to use the intervening period to compile a comprehensive report on the state of healthcare infrastructure, regulatory shortcomings, and the efficacy of past compliance measures.

Case Title: Citizens Forum vs. State of J&K and ors

Order Date: December 9, 2025

Bench: Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal