Chattisgarh High Court
Madhukar Dwivedi vs State Of Chhattisgarh on 23 March, 2017
HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH, BILASPUR
AFR
Order Sheet
WPPIL No. 19 of 2017
Madhukar Dwivedi Versus State Of Chhattisgarh
23/03/2017 Shri Rajeev Shrivastava, Advocate for the
petitioner.
Shri J.K. Gilda, Advocate General with Shri A.S.
Kachhawaha, Additional Advocate General for
Respondent Nos.1 to 6 / State.
Shri Anand Mohan Tiwari, Advocate for Respondent Nos.21, 27, 43, 45, 48 & 54.
Shri Subrat Sahoo, Principal Secretary, Department of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of Chhattisgarh, Shri R. Prasanna, Director of Health Services, Govt. of Chhattisgarh and Shri Anbalagan P, Collector, District Bilaspur are present in person.
Heard the learned Advocates appearing for the parties, the learned Advocate General and the Additional Advocate General for the State.
1. This writ petition is filed in public interest. The fundamental issue which has now to gain attention following earlier orders is the requirement to prevent the people from being put to a situation of peril in terms of right to life and health as a result of unauthorized and illegal involvement of the persons who are incompetent and unqualified to administer any form of medication under due certification of the competent authority in terms of the Central and the State laws. The unauthorized establishment and running of clinics, nursing homes and other institutions and establishments including those intended for medical examination and diagnosis cannot be carried except with due sanction being granted by the authority competent. Such sanction could be granted only to those persons who hold eligible qualifications in terms of the governing laws.
2. Following different orders running from the year 2013, today we have before us an affidavit sworn-in by Shri R. Prasanna, Director of Health Services, Govt. of Chhattisgarh, Raipur. For the present, we do not proceed to reiterate everything that he has said therein. Suffice it would be for us to refer to Annexure-III, a tabular statement which is a self- serving testimony of the gross deficiencies in the management of the issue by the State authorities, except to some extent in some of the districts including the District of Bilaspur. This does not by itself mean that we are satisfied with the action taken even by those district administrations which have shown some element of pursuit to the objects sought to be achieved by different statutory provisions and the larger public requirement to ensure that the right to life, the most precious element in the Constitution of India as guaranteed, is secured to the people of this part of the State.
3. Facility for health services is concomitant with the avowed proclamation of the right to health as part of right to life as embodied in Article 21 of the Constitution. Use of the resources of the State for the material well-being of citizenry is one of the inbuilt constitutional values emanating out of the Directive Principles of the State Policy enumerated in Part-IV of the Constitution. The Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic called India is by itself a homogeneous existence of the great people of this land where they stand assured of dignity of the individual and equality before the laws. The seminal doctrine of equality is not merely a factor in adjudicating process but is also one to be maintained and ensured in relation to enjoyment of everything that has to be provided by a welfare State.
4. Bearing the aforesaid in mind, it has to be underscored with all the emphasis at our command that time has come to wrap-up every quack in the street, meaning thereby every person who is unqualified in terms of the laws to act as a service provider in the field of medicine or medication or other operations in connection with the health management. We therefore declare so and emphasize that aspect and would proceed further with this case to ensure that everything that is needed to reach at this goal is pushed through, with the support of judicial limb of the sovereign namely 'We, the People of India'.
5. The total number of quacks in the streets even after the combing and pruning operations by the executive is voluminous as is reflected by the chart which is Annexure-III along with the affidavit of the Director, Health Services. When humans act without authority and proper eligibility, they would be potentially dangerous instruments of injustice and violators of human rights. They are to be handled by the State with due vigour as warranted by the facts and circumstances, in accordance with the laws, to curb the menace of unlawful encroachment into the health management sector, which is a matter of prime importance in governance. People are entitled to be protected from the quacks and unauthorized persons in the realm of the health management.
6. People, by and large, are innocent and gullible, as regards the unlawful activities of the quacks and similar unauthorized persons. The citizens are required to be protected from the quacks who operate solely with their unlawful commercial interest in mind and are carrying out the afore-noted illegal activity of offering unauthorizedly, remedies for illness of humans, resulting in deprivation of legitimate expectation in relation to the right to health of the citizens of this part of the land, thereby breaching the precious fundamental right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Hence, we caution that further action should be carried forward in relation to the protection of the people from quackery on a war footing so that there will be complete eradication of such unauthorized and unlawful activities by any person whomsoever.
7. We are assured by the Principal Secretary to the Government in the Department of Health and the Director of Health Services that needful will be done for immediate result in the light of what is stated above. The Health Department, the Social Welfare Department, the Panchayat & Rural Development Department and the Tribal Welfare Department have necessarily to work hand-in- hand to demystify quackery. The Secretary to the Government in the Department of Health tells us that there are different programmes carried forward from time to time for intermittent training of Asha Workers, Gram Panchayat Mitanins and service providers in the public sectors at the grass root level.
8. Dissemination of information relatable to public health and health support systems is of critical importance. The State has the duty to ensure that. There must be an effective process by which the citizens are made more receptive to the idea that the quacks are to be excluded from the life system of the people to protect the lives of the citizens as part of their legitimate entitlement to enjoy the fundamental right to life enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution of India; which is a primary legal right and constitutional right, for the enjoyment of which legal awareness in that regard is essential. This can be best achieved by carrying forward a pro- active programme for dissemination of information, including legal awareness, as would be conducive to handle the situation in hand.
9. The Chhattisgarh State Legal Services Authority can spearhead appropriate programmes if the State authorities and requisite NGOs join hands and formulate an appropriate procedure whereby the different district legal service authorities, taluka legal services committees, the para-legal volunteers and NGOs can be involved in dissemination of information attendant to the right to life which is a matter that will amount to a legal literacy programme linked with a health promotion programme. The National Legal Services Authority has also certain Schemes in force. We therefore direct that the Secretaries to the Government of Chhattisgarh in the Department of Health, Department of Tribal Welfare, Department of Pancahayat & Rural Development and Department of Family Welfare will ascertain an appropriate time and date from the Member Secretary, CG State Legal Services Authority for a meeting with the Executive Chairman of the CG State Legal Services Authority and discuss to formulate suggestions which may come therein and thereafter such programme will be operated throughout the State in obedience to this judicial order and in terms of the instructions that may be issued by the Executive Chairman, SALSA. This, we are sure, will help in dissemination of information which would be an admixture of those relating to legal rights and entitlement to right to life being carried to the people at the grass root level. The socio- economically challenged sectors and those who suffer from challenges of language and illiteracy have also to be appropriately instructed in the matter. Let such meeting be held at the earliest, preferably within a period of ten days from today.
10. With the aforesaid, we also direct that vigorous action shall be forthwith pursued by all the District Collectors concerned to ensure that the earlier directions of this Court are obeyed to the benchmarks required and Action Taken Reports are placed on record without fail within a period of two months from today. The Chief Secretary to the Government of Chhattisgarh shall be responsible for ensuring the correctness of such reports, which shall be placed before this Court with his approval.
11.The Office to issue a copy of this order to the Member Secretary, Chhattisgarh State Legal Services Authority for information.
12. Post the matter immediately after two months. Personal appearance of the officers who are present today will stand deferred from now, until otherwise ordered.
Sd/- Sd/-
(Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan) (Pritinker Diwaker)
Chief Justice Judge
roshan / khan