The Delhi High Court on Monday issued notice to the Delhi government while hearing a PIL seeking direction to the Delhi Government to cap the price of High-Resolution Computerized Tomography (HRCT) Test, which detects Covid-19 infection.
The division bench of Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Jasmeet Singh passed this order while hearing a PIL filed by Shivleen Pasricha through Advocate Amresh Anand.
The petitioner advocate said currently, the price of HRCT test is unregulated in Delhi and it costs between Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,500 which maybe beyond the paying capacity of a common man. The price of HRCT/CT scan/ test has already been regulated by the governments of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh at a very low price as compared to what Delhi hospitals are charging.
The petition submitted that on several occasions, it has been seen that a suspected/probable Covid patient may have tested negative in RT-PCR test but the HRCT test catches it. It further submitted that the cost of the Test at present in Delhi is unregulated and very high, beyond the affordability of a common man.
The petition states,
“The need of the hour is to take immediate steps by the respondents to make HRCT, an essential test for Covid-19, available to the common man, at reasonable and affordable prices.”
“Hypothetically, if a nuclear family of 4 (four) is suspected to be infected by COVID-19, and they are to undergo HRCT for determining the specificity and/ or severity and/ or diagnosis of the infection, then they have to shell out a considerable amount of money which may be outside the scope of affordability of a common man,” the petition said.
The PIL sought directions to the Respondents to take appropriate steps to regulate/ cap the rate of High-Resolution Computerised Tomography (‘HRCT’) test/ scan in the State of National Capital Territory of Delhi, specifically for patients having Covid-19 symptoms, in the interest of justice.