In a significant development, the Bombay High Court has taken suo motu cognizance of the recent tragic deaths of patients in government hospitals located in the Nanded and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar districts of Maharashtra. This move comes in response to a concerned lawyer’s letter, and it signals a proactive response from the judiciary.
The division bench, comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor, acknowledged the issue and directed the petitioner, advocate Mohit Khanna, to submit a comprehensive petition that includes all the research he has conducted on this matter. Furthermore, they instructed Khanna to provide a copy of this petition to the State authorities for review.
During the proceedings, the bench also requested Maharashtra Advocate General Birendra Saraf to furnish detailed information about the budget allocation by the Maharashtra government for the healthcare sector. The next hearing for this matter has been scheduled for Friday, October 6.
Expressing concern, the bench noted that if these patient deaths were due to shortages of manpower and essential medicines, such circumstances would be deemed unacceptable. Saraf assured the Court that he would gather information about the incidents in the hospitals and present it at the upcoming hearing. Additionally, he was tasked with collecting information regarding the availability of specialist doctors in these hospitals.
Advocate Mohit Khanna had initially submitted a letter to the Court on Wednesday, urging them to take suo motu cognizance. In his letter, Khanna raised alarm over the tragic loss of 31 lives, including infants, at Dr. Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospitals (GMCH) in Nanded, as well as 14 deaths at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Government Hospital. Khanna emphasized that the hospitals had cited a shortage of beds, doctors, and essential medicines as the primary causes of these deaths, asserting that such conditions violated the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution.
In the morning, the bench had requested Khanna to file a formal petition, including comprehensive data on hospital staff vacancies, the availability of medicines, and the government’s allocated budget for hospitals. However, after lunch, the Court decided to take suo motu cognizance of the matter, appointing Khanna as the amicus in the case.
Meanwhile, there have been reports of an additional 24 deaths in government hospitals in Nagpur, bringing the total death toll to 70, as reported by Deccan Herald. This concerning situation has spurred the High Court into action to investigate and address these distressing incidents.
