HC seeks to know steps taken by MP govt on order for hospitals

The high court asked the government to give its reply on October 1. A division bench of Justices Sanjay Yadav and B K Shrivastava sought the state's reply after the latter did not mention what action it has taken to ensure compliance of the court's earlier order, in the status report it submitted on Wednesday, amicus curiae in the case advocate Naman Nagrath said on Saturday.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has sought to know the steps taken by the state government on its earlier order, in which it asked all hospitals to put up display boards at their reception counters to give information about the treatment rates for COVID-19 patients. The high court asked the government to give its reply on October 1.

A division bench of Justices Sanjay Yadav and B K Shrivastava sought the state's reply after the latter did not mention what action it has taken to ensure compliance of the court's earlier order, in the status report it submitted on Wednesday, amicus curiae in the case advocate Naman Nagrath said on Saturday. The state government submitted the status report over the compliance of the court's September 7 direction, which asked it to get the list of treatment rates for coronavirus patients displayed at the reception centers in hospitals, he said.

"Though it is stated by learned additional advocate general that the order is being complied with and status report to the effect has been filed on September 14, it does not disclose the action taken by the state government to issue a direction to every hospital, including private ones, to display the rates for treatment of COVID-19 patients at their reception centers," the court observed. "Nor it is shown that the state has given a wide publication in the newspaper in respect of the said direction," it said further.

The court has granted time to the state government to file a reply towards an application seeking its direction to ensure free treatment to the coronavirus patient, till October 1- the next date of hearing, Nagrath said referring to the order, the hard copy of which he received on Friday. The court issued the direction during the hearing of a suo moto petition on the basis of a letter received from the Supreme Court.

In the letter, senior advocate Dr. Ashwani Kumar has drawn the court's attention to a news report, which stated that an elderly man was tied to a bed in a hospital in Madhya Pradesh after he failed to pay his treatment bills, the amicus curiae said. The news report pertained to Laxmi Narayan, a resident of Ranara in tehsil Khilchipur in Rajgarh district, who was treated for colic and other ailments in a private hospital there, the council said.

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