Right to Health and Hospital Negligence: Rajasthan High Court Takes Suo Motu Cognizance, Division Bench Closes PIL

Rajasthan Patrika published two news items on 08.11.2024 and 10.11.2024, one on dialysis and the other on a hospital's emergency department; the Court marked the cuttings as Annexures C1 and C2 (para 10). Calling them "nerve shocking" and saying they reflected "the real picture of the gross negligence on the part of the various hospital administration" (para 10), Anoop Kumar Dhand J. took suo motu cognizance on 11.11.2024 (para 13). The petition was registered as "Suo Motu: In the Matter of Right to Health and Well Being of Everyone" against the Union of India, the State of Rajasthan, and the Additional Chief Secretary and the Director of the State's Department of Medical and Health (para 13).

The Court said the right to health is an essential component of human dignity, which the government must protect and promote for all citizens (para 1). It traced the idea to the first mantra of the Yajur Veda (para 2) and to Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (para 3). Although the Constitution does not expressly recognise a fundamental right to health, Article 21 includes the right to human dignity, which extends to health and medical aid, and the right to health is an integral part of the right to life (paras 5, 7). It also cited Articles 38, 39(e), 41 and 47 among the Directive Principles (para 6). A Government hospital has a professional obligation to protect human life, and its administration must preserve life "without any kind of discrimination and negligence" (para 8). Despite health schemes and policies, the health care system was "deteriorating day by day" (para 9). The Government has a constitutional obligation to provide health facilities, and no one should lose his life through the negligence of a hospital, its staff or poor administration (para 11). It should now establish more hospitals and Public Health Centres with adequate facilities (para 12).