MillenniumPost
Delhi

Govt order for hospital to serve poor stayed

The Delhi High Court has stayed an order of the central government incorporating a fresh condition in 42-year-old lease deed of St Stephens Hospital Society for free treatment of poor.

‘The operation of the order dated 2 February [by which the Centre sought to insert a term asking it to give free treatment to the poor] is stayed,’ Justice Manmohan Singh said.

The court, hearing the petition of St Stephens Hospital Society, has also asked the Ministry of Urban Development and the Delhi government to file their replies within six week and fixed the matter for further hearing on 19 September.

St Stephens Hospital, a minority institution which got the land from the Centre by way of a perpetual lease deed in 1970, had moved the High Court against the executive order by which a condition was sought to be inserted in its lease deed for free treatment to the poor by the hospital.

Hospital’s counsel said that the lease deed executed between St Stephens and the Central government does not have a clause making it mandatory for the missionary hospital to give free treatment to poor unlike other private hospitals, which also got the land from the government.

‘The said unilateral amendment of the perpetual lease deed executed in terms of the Article 299 of the Constitution by way of an executive order is ex-facie without jurisdiction, arbitrary, illegal and violative of constitutional schemes. The society is a more than 127-year-old missionary hospital ... Without there being any legal obligation to do so, the petitioner [the hospital] having regard to its missionary objectives has voluntarily been providing free care to a large number of patients, the free care being provided to more than 30 per cent to out-patients and 12-17 per cent in-patients and the value of such care being in the region of Rs 30 crore,’ the petition said.

The central government had decided to add the said fresh condition following the judgement of the High Court which had earlier asked around 20 private hospitals to give free treatment to poor as their lease deeds contained a provision to that effect.

St Stephens Hospital, however, was not a party to that litigation and its lease deed also did not have the clause making it mandatory to give free treatment to the poor, the petition said.
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