Under which provisions Private Hospitals requisitioned for COVID Treatment: HC asks State

The Nagpur bench of the High Court of Bombay has directed the Govt of Maharashtra to clarify about the legal provisions under which private hospitals are being used as dedicated COVID-19 healthcare facilities.

A 2-Member Division Bench, comprising Justice Ravi Deshpande & Justice Pushpa Ganediwala, has also ordered the State Govt to clarify if the latter is willing to appropriately compensate private hospitals following their requisition under Section 65 of the Disaster Management (DM) Act, 2005.

The bench made the observation while hearing a plea filed by Viveka Super Speciality Hospital & Research Centre, a private healthcare facility, in Nagpur, challenging the validity of 2 notifications by the State Govt.

The notifications were issued by the State Govt on April 30 & May 21 following which an order was also put out by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) on Aug 31, directing the petitioner hospital to spare 80 per cent of its beds for treatment of Coronavirus patients.

Lawyers Kartik Shukul & Abhilash Shriwas, who represented the petitioner hospital, submitted that neither the notifications nor the civic order issued under Section 65 of the DM Act, 2005, were in legal conformity.

They pleaded that the bid to requisition 80 per cent of the hospital beds was void because of the absence of an order.

The bench found merit in the petitioner’s submissions, & asked the divisional revenue commissioner & the NMC commissioner, who were present for the hearing, about the legal provisions under which they had requisitioned private hospitals for the treatment of Coronavirus patients.

However, both the officials were clueless about the Court’s query & sought time for a response.

The Court said that “If orders as contemplated under Section 65 of the DM Act, 2005 or under Section 2 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, which have not been passed to date, it is not understood as to how & under what authority there can be interference in the management of Covid-19 patients in private hospitals, either by the state government or by the empowered officers under the said Acts".

It added that if the notifications were issued under these legal provisions, then obligations contained under Section 66 of the DM Act, 2005, regarding the payment of compensation would follow.

The bench will hear the plea next on Thursday (Oct 15). 

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