State hospitals must provide timely medical treatment; failure constitutes a breach of the right to life under Article 21.

1 In Pt. Parmanand Katara v. Union of India 1989 (4) SCC 286 ) this Court in the context of medico-legal cases, has emphasised the need for rendering immediate medical aid to injured persons to preserve life and the obligations of the State as well as doctors in that regard. This petition, filed under Art.32 of the Constitution raises this issue in the context of availability of facilities in Government hospitals for treatment of persons sustaining serious injuries.

2 Hakim Seikh [Petitioner No. 2] who is a member of Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samity [petitioner No. 1], an organisation of agricultural labourers, fell of a train at Mathurapur Station in West Bengal at about 7.45 P.M. on July 8, 1992. As a result of the said fall Hakim Seikh suffered serious head injuries and brain haemorrhage. He was taken to the Primary Health Centre at Mathurapur. Since necessary facilities for treatment were not available at the Primary Health Centre, the medical officer in charge of the Centre referred him to the Diamond Harbour Sub-Divisional Hospital or any other State hospital for better treatment. Hakim Seikh was taken to N.R.S. Medical College Hospital near Sealdah Railway Station, Calcutta at about 11.45 P.M. on July 8, 1992. The Emergency Medical Officer in the said Hospital, after examining him and after taking two X-ray prints of his skull recommended immediate admission for further treatment. But Hakim Seikh could not be admitted in the said hospital as no vacant bed was available in the Surgical Emergency ward and the regular Surgery Ward was also full. He was thereafter taken to Calcutta Medical College Hospital at about 12.20 A.M. on July 9, 1992 but there also he was not admitted on the ground that no vacant bed was available. He was then taken to Shambhu Nath Pandit Hospital at about 1.00 A.M. on July 9, 1992. He was not admitted in that hospital and referred to a teaching hospital in the ENT, Neuro Surgeon Department on the ground that the hospital has no ENT Emergency or Neuro Emergency Department. At about 2.00 A.M. on July 9, 1992 he was taken to the Calcutta National Medical College Hospital but there also he was not admitted on account of non availability of bed. At about 8.00 A.M. on July 9, 1992 he was taken to the Bangur Institute of Neurology hut on seeing the CT Scan (which was got done at a private hospital on payment of Rs. 1310/-) it was found that there was haemorrhage condition in the frontal region of the head and that it was an emergency case which could not be handled in the said Institute. At about 10.00 A.M. on July 9, 1992 he was taken to SSKM Hospital but there also he was not admitted on the ground that the hospital has no facility of neuro surgery. Ultimately he was admitted in Calcutta Medical Research Institute, a private hospital, where he received treatment as an indoor patient from July 9, 1992 to July 22, 1992 and he had incurred an expenditure of approximately Rs.17,000/- in his treatment.

3 Feeling aggrieved by the indifferent and callous altitude on the part of the medical authorities at the various State run hospitals in Calcutta in providing treatment for the serious injuries sustained by Hakim Seikh the petitioners have filed this writ petition.

4 In the writ petition the petitioners have also assailed the decision of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission dated December 15, 1989 in Consumer Unity & Trust Society, Jaipur v. State of Rajasthan and Others and it has been submitted that the expression 'consumer' as defined in S.2(1)(d)(ii) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 includes persons getting or eligible for medical treatment in Government hospitals and that the expression 'services' as defined in S.2(1)(o) of the Act includes services provided in the Government hospitals also. The said question has been considered in the recent decision of this Court in Indian Medical Association v. V.P. Shantha, 1995 (6) SCC 651). In view of the said decision the only question which need