The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea seeking directions for excluding the subject of health from the state list and including it in the Central list.
The division bench of Justice Nageswara Rao and Justice Hemant Gupta has asked the petitioner to approach the appropriate Government.
The petitioner-in-person Sujata Kohli who is a former Judge in Principal District and Session courts, New Delhi made submission for the writ petition filed by Amrendra Mehta for setting up a national health commission for the entire country and excluding the subject of health from the state list to include it in central list making it an utmost national priority.
According to the present petition the following issues were raised concerning the general public-
• Whether it is not high time for the union of India to treat health of citizen of India on top priority and give it the importance as to the subjects like defence and to bring the subject into the central list?
• Whether it is not high time for union of India to take initiative and shoulder the responsibility for health situation of Indian citizens?
• Whether it is not high time that union of India starts planning in the long run through a national health commission to face the bio war fare like situation hovering over India and also the entire world and start taking the subject of health on the priority that it deserves?
• Whether it is not high time to make it mandatory for all major departments of union as well as state government and mentally autonomous bodies to a chat attach themselves or to provide for them self multispecialty Hospital to be well-equipped and then sufficient to a large extent to meet the health challenges of their employees?
• Whether it is not high time to make it mandatory for all hospitals to have an oxygen generating plant attached with them and all other basic necessary infrastructure available with surplus need and to make it mandatory for the smaller and private nursing homes to get themselves affiliated to the major hospitals for the emergency situation?
“The era of covid was very traumatic and in present scenario it should not be repeated, the states has mishandled the situation of health” submitted by Kohli.
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According to the petitioner the function of the proposed National Health Commission is to treat the health of each and every citizen on top priority and allocation of budget for health sector.
“Can this Court pass such orders? Can we give directions like that, to remove subjects from State list?” the Bench asked
The petitioner replied “Not directions, but the court is very much empowered to give recommendations if they find substance in the petition”
The division bench dismissed the plea by advising the petitioner to approach the appropriate government.