Ganga Ram hospital moves HC against State Government’s FIR

The administration of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital has filed a petition in the High Court Delhi, seeking the scrapping of an FIR based on a complaint by the Govt. of Delhi for allegedly not following Coronavirus testing guidelines.

The petition, which is likely to be heard on Monday, also sought the setting aside of an order passed by the Delhi Govt on June 3 that prohibited the hospital from testing for Coronavirus. Earlier, on June 3, the hospital was asked by the State Govt in an order to stop Covid-19 testing, citing violations of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines.

However, on Saturday, the order was later recalled & the hospital authorities were again allowed to resume testing.

The Delhi Govt had filed an FIR against the medical superintendent of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Rajendra Nagar for allegedly not following protocols for testing Covid-19 patients. The FIR was filed last week on the basis of a complaint by Delhi’s deputy health secretary, Amit Kumar Pamasi.

The public relations officer of Ganga Ram Hospital denied commenting on the plea in the HC.

The Delhi Medical Association had, in a press statement, condemned the FIR & called the case against the hospital’s health workers “highly demoralising” during a pandemic.

The FIR has been filed under Section 188 of the IPC that allows punishment of 1 month’s simple imprisonment and/or ₹200 fine or six months imprisonment and/ or ₹1,000 fine if the offence puts human life at risk. The Indian Penal Code section can be invoked under the Epidemic Diseases Act, which has been in force in Delhi since mid-March.

A copy of the FIR read's, “The order of Health & Family Welfare Department regarding guidelines for tracking & monitoring of every Covid-19 suspected cases tested in various accredited labs across Delhi wherein it was mandatory for the labs to collect sample only through the Delhi government’s RT-PCR App. Further CDMO (Chief District Medical Officer) cum mission director, Central, mentioned that Sir Ganga Ram hospital is still not using RT-PCR app even till today (03/06) which is a clear violation of direction issued under Epidemic Disease Covid-19 regulation 2020".

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