Delhi High Court
Aishwarya Adhikari vs Union Of India And Ors on 18 November, 2019
$~36
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
Date of decision: 18th November, 2019
+ W.P.(C) 12084/2019 and CM No. 49485/2019
AISHWARYA ADHIKARI ..... Petitioner
Through: Mr. Tenzin Chodon, Adv.
versus
UNION OF INDIA AND ORS. ..... Respondents
Through: Mr. Rajesh Gogna, CGSC with
Ms. Priyanka Arora and Mr. Upendra Sai, Adv.
for R-1
Mr. Sanjoy Ghose, ASC-GNCTD with
Ms. Urvi Mohan, Adv.
CORAM:
HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE C.HARI SHANKAR
ORDER
% 18.11.2019
D.N. PATEL, CHIEF JUSTICE (ORAL)
CM No. 49485/2019
1. Exemption allowed, subject to all just exceptions.
2. The applications are disposed of.
W.P.(C) 12084/2019
1. This Public Interest Litigation has been preferred with the
following prayers :
a) Issue a writ of mandamus or any other writ, order or
direction to the Respondents to immediately establish a
strong referral mechanism where the ASHA's and
Anganwadi Workers will coordinate with Mohalla Clinic
and take responsibility to provide prenatal, antenatal and
postnatal care through Mohalla Clinics. Currently though
the Mohalla Clinic is being touted as Zero Cost Model,
however pregnant women and lactating mothers still have
high out of pocket expenses as there is no service
available for them and there is very poor outreach, with
patients from near the Mohalla Clinic accessing services.
b) Issue a writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate
writ order or direction to the Respondents to increase
multi-speciality polyclinics from 25 to 191 to ensure that
all the existing 191 Mohalla Clinics are supported and
used to the maximum by not only pregnant and lactating
mothers but the poor and the vulnerables as well.
c) Issue a writ of mandamus or any other writ order or
direction to the Respondents to increase the number of
Mohalla Clinics to 1000 as promised the Delhi State
Government. This will ensure that the entire population in
need of health services are covered and can avail basic
health services along with providing health-related
information, education and awareness. The clinics also
provide preventive services such as antenatal and
postnatal care of pregnant women, assessment of
nutritional status and counselling and a preventive and
promotive component of National/State Health
Programmes.
d)Issue a writ of mandamus or any other writ order or
direction to the Respondents to immediately undertake
facility survey which will contribute to improved and
sustained quality of care in health facilities and will
assess other similar services provided through Primary
Health Centre and Dispensary which are complementary
or duplicate the services available in Mohalla Clinics.
The facility survey will help to improve and delineate
through facility-based quality improvement methods so
that the same service is not provided through health
centers established near to one another. The facility
survey should be combined with periodic population-
based outcome evaluations and mapping of public health
data, as NFS are powerful instruments for improving
service delivery.
e) Issue a writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate
writ order or direction to the Respondents to regularly
undertake community monitoring as spelt out in the
Government of India guidelines to enhance, safeguard
and improve quality of services.
f) Issue a writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate writ
order or directions to the Respondent to create visibility
of key schemes and programmes being provided through
Mohalla Clinics and other health care services.
g) Issue a writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate
writ order or directions to the Respondents to update the
list of the functional Mohalia clinics across Delhi in the
website with the date and seal.
h)For any such suitable orders/s as this Hon'bie Court
may deem fit and necessary taking the facts and
circumstances of the case, in the interest of justice."
2. Having heard learned counsel for both the sides and looking to the
facts and circumstances of the case, it appears that this petitioner is in
search of immediate establishment of a strong referral mechanism where
ASHA's and Anganwadi Workers, in coordination with each other, take
responsibility to provide pre-natal, anti-natal and post-natal care through
Mohalla Clinics and for increase in multi-speciality polyclinics and for
such other prayers, the present writ petition has been preferred. It appears
that all these prayers are nothing but the policy decisions to be taken by
the respondents. We, therefore, direct the respondents to look into the
grievances ventilated by this petitioner in this writ petition and if any
policy decision is to be taken, the same may be taken by the respondents
in accordance with law, rules, regulations and Government policy.
3. With these observations, this writ petition is hereby disposed of.
CHIEF JUSTICE
NOVEMBER 18, 2019/kr C.HARI SHANKAR, J.
