PIL in HC against Delhi govt earmarking beds in hotels attached to govt hospitals for its officials

The Delhi government's notification reserving rooms in four hotels linked with two hospitals for treatment of officials of various public authorities and their families has been challenged in the Delhi High Court which on Monday sought the health department's response to the plea.

A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli issued notice to the Delhi government's health department seeking its stand on the challenge to its notification.

The plea has been filed by a Delhi-based doctor, Kaushal Kant Mishra.

According to the Delhi government's April 27 notification, 70 rooms in Hotel Ginger at Vivek Vihar here, 50 rooms in Hotel Park Plaza in Shahadra, and 50 rooms in Hotel Leela Ambience at CBD Ground, linked to Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital and all the rooms in Hotel Golden Tulip at Hari Nagar, which is linked to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital (DDU), are reserved for the treatment of officers/officials of Delhi government, autonomous bodies, corporations, local bodies and their families.

The plea has contended that creating a classification in favour of a certain category of persons was ''arbitrary'' and ''unimaginable'' when the common man was running from pillar to post in search of oxygen beds.

''It violates the right to health by diverting crucial health resources of the community away from the common citizens and in favour of already privileged government officers,'' the petition has said.

Apart from setting aside the April 27 notification, Mishra has also sought quashing of three Delhi government orders of last year as per which initially two dedicated hospitals and one testing laboratory were earmarked for the treatment of such officials/their families and later, the four hospitals were linked to the two government hospitals.

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