The Hindu : New Delhi News : CGHS directed to give medicine to cancer patient

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Tuesday, Jul 22, 2008
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New Delhi

CGHS directed to give medicine to cancer patient

Staff Reporter

Estranged wife of IPS officer is suffering from breast cancer

Second dose of medication was due on July 22
Husband has not come forward to bear cost of treatment

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Monday directed the Director-General of Central Government Health Scheme to administer the second dose of medicine to the estranged wife of a retired Indian Police Service officer of Rajasthan suffering from breast cancer.

A Division Bench of the Court comprising Justice A.P. Shah and Justice S. Muralidhar passed the direction on an application by the patient, Bimla Balani, through her counsel. She informed the Bench that the second dose of medication was due on July 22 but so far her husband had not come forward to bear the cost of her treatment.

In this situation, the patient had no other option but to approach the Court for a direction to CGHS to administer the medicine to her, the application said.

The Court has been hearing a petition by Ms. Balani seeking a direction either to her husband, Jaikishan Balani, or to CGHS to bear the cost of a prescribed drug for the treatment of her fast spreading cancer.

The cost of treatment of the patient will be about Rs.1.5 lakh per month and it will continue for one full year.

The patient was married to Jaikishan Balani at Jodhpur in Rajasthan way back in 1956 but differences developed between them after a few years of marriage. Subsequently they started staying separately. Thereafter the husband filed a divorce petition in a court here. The court passed a decree in his favour permitting him to divorce his wife in 2007.

Bimla Balani then filed an appeal against the lower court decree in the High Court in 2008. Meanwhile, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

She sought a direction either to her husband or to CGHS to bear the cost of her treatment on the ground that the husband had the medical liability towards her as she was his legal wife till her appeal was disposed of.

She further submitted that since her husband was covered under the CGHS scheme, CGHS Director-General also had the liability to bear the cost of her treatment.

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