The Delhi High Court on Thursday expressed happiness over the Delhi health minister and health secretary deciding to implement the central government statute- ‘The Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010- to regulate clinical establishments in the national capital.
The Delhi government informed the high court that the health minister and the department's secretary have agreed to forward the Delhi Health Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill to the Government of India for necessary approval.
In the meantime, the central government’s statute will be implemented in Delhi, it said.
“This court is happy to note that after the last hearing the Delhi health minister and the secretary (Health and Family Welfare) have agreed that the already prepared Delhi Health Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill will be forwarded to the government of India for necessary approval.
“They have further agreed that during the interregnum the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 shall be adopted in the NCT of Delhi in compliance to a 2023 letter of government of India and a 2022 order passed by the high court,” a bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmohan PS Arora said.
Taking note of the decision taken by the authorities, the high court disposed of a 2018 petition by Bejon Kumar Misra, represented by advocate Shashank Deo Sudhi, who alleged that unauthorised laboratories and diagnostic centres were functioning in the national capital with unqualified technicians and giving incorrect reports to patients.
“Accordingly taking note of this decision of the minister and the secretary, the petition is closed,” the bench said and made it clear that the law will be implemented within two weeks.
The high court had on March 21 warned Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj and Health Secretary SB Deepak Kumar, who were present during the proceedings, of sending them to jail for their failure to comply with judicial orders on enactment of a law to regulate clinical establishments.
The bench had said the minister and the secretary were “servants of government” and can’t have “large egos”.
The petitioner had argued before the court that pathological labs in the city were unregulated and posed a threat to the lives of citizens.
The plea said, "Such illegal labs continue to mushroom in and around Delhi-NCT and it can be easily estimated that the total number of such illegal pathological and diagnostic labs can be anywhere between 20,000 and 25,000, and every street in the capital has such illegal pathological labs."
