Will ask AIIMS to take over Apollo Hospital if poor do not get free treatment there, says SC

The Supreme Court on Tuesday told Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in New Delhi that it will direct the All India Institute of Medical Sciences to take over its management if it did not fulfill its commitment in its lease agreement to provide free treatment to poor patients, The Indian Express reported.

The hospital was built on 15 acres of land given on a symbolic lease of Re 1, according to the newspaper. The lease agreement establishing the hospital had stipulated that its management provide facilities to the poor.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and NK Singh also ordered the Union and Delhi governments to form a joint committee to “find out if poor people are being treated there or this land has been grabbed for private interest”.

The court told the Centre and Delhi government to discuss the matter at the highest level. “…If need be, we will ask AIIMS to run the hospital,” it said.

The bench gave Indraprastha Apollo Hospital four weeks to submit an affidavit explaining its stand.

The Supreme Court was hearing a petition filed by Indraprastha Medical Corporation Limited, which runs the hospital, against a 2009 order issued by the Delhi High Court, The Indian Express reported.

As per the lease agreement, Indraprastha Medical Corporation Limited was required to provide free medical diagnostic facilities...

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