Delhi’s hospital quota for residents scrapped

The Delhi high court on Friday quashed a directive by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government reserving 80% of beds in Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital for residents of the national capital, stating that the notification was impermissible under the constitution and “suffers from various vices”.

The bench said the notification sought to create what it described as a class within a class. “…we have no hesitation in holding that the impugned circular suffers from various vices which are not permissible under the Constitution; the circular classifies identically situated persons differently for the purpose of granting them medical facility without any rational basis ...we cannot uphold such a classification,” it said.

The court directed the state government to provide medical facilities at the hospital to all citizens as was being done before the enforcement of the notification. The court’s ruling came on plea by a non-government organisation (NGO), Social Jurist, that challenged the directive reserving facilities for the residents of Delhi on a pilot basis.

The plea said the notification deprived non-Delhi residents of treatment at the hospital.

GTB Hospital, established in 1987 has a 700-bed facility, is the only Delhi government tertiary care hospital in East Delhi, catering to the local population as well as patients from adjacent states, according to its website. The hospital provides round-the-clock emergency services. HTC