News Brief
'You Both Will Go To Jail': Here's Why Delhi High Court Warned Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, Secretary
Delhi Health Minister and AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj
The Delhi High Court has issued a stern warning to Delhi's Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj and Health Secretary S B Deepak Kumar, cautioning that they could face imprisonment for not adhering to judicial directives regarding the enactment of a law to regulate clinical establishments.
The court reprimanded them for their failure to comply with orders and emphasized that they are "servants of the government" who cannot harbor "large egos."
The court had in February asked Bharadwaj and Kumar to be present before it after perusing an email that said the minister was not kept in the loop during discussions on the Delhi Health Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill.
Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet PS Arora expressed dissatisfaction with the implementation of essential legislation, stressing that such disputes are detrimental to the welfare of citizens.
The bench warned that if the minister and secretary persist in their discord and fail to prioritise public interest, they risk imprisonment.
"Don't do this with us otherwise you both will go to jail. We will have no hesitation in sending both of you to jail if the common man benefits from this. Both of you can't have large egos... What are you doing? People are getting wrong reports of their blood samples," the bench said.
During the hearing of a 2018 petition by Bejon Kumar Misra, the Delhi High Court had addressed concerns regarding unauthorised laboratories and diagnostic centres operating in the national capital.
Misra's petition alleged that these establishments, staffed by unqualified technicians, were providing incorrect reports to patients.
In response to queries about the delay in implementing regulations, the Health Minister stated that the Delhi Health Bill was finalized in May 2022.
However, the court questioned why the bill had not yet been forwarded to the Centre for approval.
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