The Hindu : Judgment on hospitals offering free care overruled

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Sep 28, 2003

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Judgment on hospitals offering free care overruled

By J. Venkatesan

New Delhi Sept. 27 . The Supreme Court has overruled its earlier judgment requiring hospitals to issue an advertisement on a monthly basis in a local newspaper, regarding free treatment given to indigent patients.

A three-Judge Bench, comprising Justice S. Rajendra Babu, Justice Arun Kumar and Justice G.P. Mathur, overruled the judgment in the `Mediwell hospital and Health Care Pvt. Ltd vs Union of India' case, on a writ petition filed by Sri Satya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Prashantigram, Andhra Pradesh, challenging the portion of the direction imposing conditions on issue of advertisements.

According to the Institute it was a fully charitable hospital with super specialities and all patients are given free treatment.

The apex court in 1997 held that to avail the benefit of duty exemption for import of advanced equipment, hospitals should issue an advertisement about the total number of patients treated free, which should be at least 40 per cent, with full particulars and addresses of each of such indigent patients.

The Institute said though it had complied with the conditions imposed by the Government of India for availing the duty exemption, in view of the above decision, the Director General of Health Services had asked them to follow the court directions.

Appearing for the Institute, senior counsel, M.N. Krishnamani, submitted that fulfilment of such conditions would entail huge expenditure and would unnecessarily add to the burden of the hospital's expenses.

He said this condition was contrary to the exemption notification and would not apply to a hospital, which was providing 100 per cent free treatment.

However, another Bench of the apex court disagreeing with the earlier view felt that it would be unnecessary to impose a condition requiring hospitals to issue advertisements regarding free treatment and referred the matter to a larger Bench.

Disposing of the petition filed by the Institute, the three-Judge bench said "when it was the prerogative of the Government to grant exemption, it was for them to impose appropriate conditions for the same and this court need not have interposed by reason of an order as made," and overruled the condition imposed in the `Mediwell's case' requiring issue of advertisement.

The Bench said if necessary, the Government might issue appropriate conditions for fulfilment of exemption.

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