HC: Covid-19 patients don’t need income certificate

Rosy.Sequeira@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: 28.06.2020

Observing that a person with Covid-19 was not expected to produce an income certificate to get benefits meant for weaker sections and indigent persons before seeking admission, Bombay high court directed Somaiya Hospital at Sion (E) to deposit Rs 10 lakh with it within two weeks.

The direction by a bench of Justices Ramesh Dhanuka and Madhav Jamdae on June 26 via videoconference, on a petition by a family of seven from Bharat Nagar slums, Bandra (E), who paid Rs 10 lakh out of Rs 12.5 lakh they were billed when admitted to the hospital between April 11-28 for Covid-19 treatment.

They said they paid Rs 10 lakh by taking loans from friends, relatives and neighbours after being threatened with discharge. The HC on June 13 directed an inquiry supervised by the charity commissioner on whether the hospital strictly followed reservations of 10% beds for weaker sections and 10% for indigent persons during lockdown. The judges said perusal of joint charity commissioner’s inquiry report “is submitted on the basis of documents called for and submitted by the hospital, and without visiting the premises and inspecting records”. The charity commissioner replied that only three patients had been treated under the hospital scheme since lockdown, till the end of May.

Senior advocate Janak Dwarkadas, for the hospital, said the petitioners did not belong to any category and had to produce an income certificate from the tehsildar or social welfare officer. The petitioners’ advocate, Vivek Shukla, said that having suffered from Covid-19 and requiring immediate medical help, they need not produce a certificate while seeking admission.

The judges said whether it was the duty of the hospital management to ask if the persons seeking admission were falling under those categories or if they had to produce income certificates in the situation faced by the petitioners, who were patients of Covid-19, were some questions that required consideration. “Prima facie, a person suffering from a disease like Covid-19 is not expected to produce a tehsildar’s certificate or certificate from the social welfare officer before seeking benefits under section 41 AA (4)(c) (weaker sections) and (b) (indigent persons),” said the bench, admitting the petition for final hearing.

A family of seven, from Bandra (East), was billed Rs 12.5 lakh by the hospital