Saturday, September 22, 2018

High Court seeks details of rules to regulate clinical establishments

Legal Correspondent

CHENNAI, SEPTEMBER 22, 2018 00:00 IST

Directs government to submit them in court at the earliest

Directing the State government to submit in court the statutory rules framed under the Tamil Nadu Private Clinical Establishments (Regulation) Act of 1997, the Madras High Court has warned that it would be constrained to summon the Health Secretary if the rules were not submitted at the earliest.

Justice N. Kirubakaran passed the order on a writ petition pending since 2016. The petition had been filed by a hair transplant clinic, whose premises at Nungambakkam was locked and sealed after one of its customers died in a suspicious manner within two days after undergoing hair transplantation procedure.

When the judge wanted to know what the regulations in place were to regulate such clinics, he was told that Parliament had enacted The Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act of 2010, but only Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Sikkim had adopted the enactment.

The court was also informed that though the Tamil Nadu Private Clinical Establishments (Regulation) Act was passed way back in 1997, it had not come into force for want of framing of statutory rules. Therefore, the hair transplant clinic had not been registered either under the Central Act or the State legislation. The judge was shocked to note that the clinic was functioning by registering itself under Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments Act of 1947 and obtaining a licence under Chennai Metropolitan Corporation Act of 1919. However, the death in Tamil Nadu had led to enactment of the Karnataka Private Medical Establishments Act in that State.

Hence, the judge directed a Special Government Pleader to make sure that the statutory rules were framed at the earliest and submit them in court.

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