Court wants policy on free medical aid

Mail Today/ New Delhi ANGUISHED over lack of funds or a policy to provide free treatment to critical patients in need of expensive drugs, the Delhi High Court on Thursday directed the Delhi government to look into the matter. The high court added that in case the state failed to devise a way out, the court itself would intervene and come up with a remedy under the Constitution to protect one’s Right to Life. “ There should be a policy. We can’t allow critically ill patients to die because they could not afford treatment. The state shall have to provide for them. It can’t be a bystander,” Justice Manmohan said. “ You can’t say human life is not worth preserving. What is the point of having a Constitution if only the rich and mighty get the benefits? We can’t have Constitution and not implement the same,” the court said. “ If a judge or a government functionary had been suffering from this ailment, then he or she would have been catered to. So why should a common man suffer for want of resources,” the court asked. The court’s observations came while it was hearing two pleas — one seeking treatment for a rickshaw puller’s son who is suffering from Gaucher, a degenerative genetic disorder, and another petition of a bed- ridden haemophiliac man who is pleading to be treated at state expense as his family has run out of money. The court has listed both the cases for final argument on March 25.