Can't give ex-parte order against fine on Dharamshila Hosp: HC

Delhi High Court today said it would not give an ex-parte order against AAP government's decision asking Dharamshila Cancer Hospital here to deposit over Rs 19 crore for allegedly refusing to provide free treatment to poor patients as per land lease condition.
"I am not granting an ex-parte order at this stage," Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva told the counsel for the hospital.
The court's oral observation came when Delhi government's counsel sought a pass over in the matter. However, when the matter could not be taken up by the bench due to paucity of time, it listed the case for further hearing on July 18.

Dharamshila hospital has moved court seeking stay on AAP government's decision, claiming they were not given proper hearing by the health department before issuing the show cause notice. It also said the department should explain how they had arrived at the figure of over Rs 19 crore.
"It (order) is non-application of mind and the order is non-speaking," the counsel for the hospital submitted during the brief hearing.
Earlier, the court had refused to grant immediate relief to Fortis Escorts Heart Institute here against the imposition of fine of over Rs 100 crore by the government.

It had told the hospital that it cannot pass any "blanket stay order" and they will have to deposit Rs 105 crore as an "ad-hoc basis" if it wished to insist on a stay on the order.

As per the special committee appointed to look into the affairs of the hospitals, over Rs 32 crore fine was imposed on Max Super Specialty Hospital (Saket), Rs 105 crore on Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, Rs 19.48 crore on Dharamshila Cancer Hospital, Rs 36.30 on Shanti Mukand Hospital and Rs 10.6 on Pushpawati Singhania Research Institute.
These Delhi-based private hospitals were asked to deposit the "unwarranted profits" got out of allegedly refusing free treatment to the poor.
The health department had said these hospitals were provided land at concessional rates between 1960 and 1990on condition they will treat the poor free of cost, but they did not abide by it.

"The penalty has been imposed on the basis of a High Court order passed in 2007 on a PIL demanding implementation of the provision of free treatment to poor and action against the erring hospitals. And the fine amount has been calculated accordingly," the health department had said.
43 private hospitals in Delhi were allotted land at concessional rates on condition that they will keep 10 per cent of their in-patient department capacity and 25 per cent of out-patient department capacity to treat economically weaker section patients free of cost.