Hospitals can’t deny help to rape, accident victims: HC
The court’s order comes after the brutal gang-rape of a 23-year-old para-medical student on December 16. The girl and her friend were stripped off and thrown out of the bus.
|Last Updated: Jan 31, 2013, 12:55 PM IST|Source: Bureau
Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: In a directive that will go a long way in preventing loss of life due to delayed medical help, the Delhi High Court on Thursday ordered the state government to ensure that all hospitals, including private hospitals don’t deny treatment to rape and road accident victims.
A division bench of Chief Justice D Murugesan and Justice VK Jain asked the principal secretary of the health department, Delhi government, to issue directions to all the private and government hospitals in the city to not refuse admission to the victims for immediate treatment.
"We direct principal secretary of health department, government of Delhi, to issue directions to all hospitals including private - recognised or not - to admit the victims of rape and road accidents for immediate first-aid treatment," said the bench.
The court also wanted that the police be given clear instructions to take those injured to the nearest hospital "without any debate" to identify a government hospital that is nearby.
"Why can`t you consider issuing standing instructions to all hospitals to treat victims brought to them without any delay?" the court told the police. "A hospital should not delay treatment on any grounds. If the hospital is a small hospital, at least they should give first aid to the victims before sending them elsewhere," the court said.
The court’s order comes after the brutal gang-rape of a 23-year-old para-medical student on December 16. The girl and her friend were stripped off and thrown out of the bus.
Later the 28-year-old man told Zee News that the policemen who reached the spot, initially, argued over the jurisdiction of the case, rather than taking them to a hospital. They were driven many kilometers to government-run Safdarjung Hospital, though there were many good private hospitals near where she was found in a bloodied condition.
The JS Verma Committee tasked to look into possible amendments to the criminal law for quicker trial and enhanced punishment for rapists had slammed Delhi`s police, public and the administration for not acting promptly to help the gang-rape victim in its report made public last week.
The panel slammed the police practice of "approaching only a government hospital and not the nearest available hospital" in a medico-legal case.
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.