High Court directs Centre to make AIIMS Kalyani at par with its Delhi counterpart

Kolkata: “Disheartened” over the fact that autopsy in the case of the Kultali alleged rape and murder of a minor could not be done at AIIMS Kalyani due to lack of infrastructure, Calcutta High Court, on Tuesday, directed the Ministry of Health to ensure it is upgraded to make it at par with its Delhi counterpart while asking the state of West Bengal to extend all cooperation.

The investigating officer submitted the compliance report relating to the autopsy on the minor’s body in the Kultai case at the Bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh. Although every instruction of Monday’s order was found to be complied with, the court was apparently perturbed that the autopsy could not be carried out at AIIMS Kalyani but at JNM Hospital due to lack of infrastructure. The court observed: “The word “All India Institute of Medical Sciences” refers to a premier brand health organisation where the common man can have the services of best of the doctors available in the country.

This is surprising that till date there is no infrastructure for conducting post mortem examination at AIIMS, Kalyani and the infrastructure of a tertiary referral hospital like JNM Hospital, Kalyani had to be used for the purposes of post mortem examination by the doctors of AIIMS, Kalyani.

The institution has been offering courses to the best of the students across the country at the graduation and post-graduation level in the field of medical sciences. So far as the services to the citizen at large is concerned, the confidence must be reposed that every infrastructure and facility is made available within the boundary and premises of AIIMS, Kalyani.

The institute is not restricted for only academic purposes but also for rendering services to patients who are suffering from acute diseases.” Further, it observed: “If an AIIMS is situated within a state, the common man at large should be benefited by the services of the best of the doctors who are ready, but they are not having a support system to execute their ability.”

The court directed the secretary, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, to ascertain the dearth in infrastructure in AIIMS, Kalyani so that it is at par with AIIMS Delhi or Rishikesh. Centre was directed to upgrade the infrastructure by December 31, 2025. State was directed to cooperate for achieving the same.