Court On Its Own Motion vs Union Of India & Ors
- Court
- Delhi High Court
$~6, 7, 8 (SDB)
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
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Date of Decision: 30 October, 2026
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Uploaded on: 3 November, 2026
# CNR No. DLHC012320462017
+ W.P.(C) 3903/2017, CM APPLs.18718/2017, 19134/2017 &
27526/2018
COURT ON ITS OWN MOTION .....Petitioner
Through: Mr. Vishwajeet Singh Bhati, Adv. for
Mr. Siddharth Aggarwal, Sr.Adv.
Mr. Ayush Pratap, Mr. Vikas Pratap
Singh, Mr. Rohan Pratap Singh and Mr.
Devansh Singh, Advocates (M:
7004477516).
versus
UNION OF INDIA & ORS .....Respondent
Through: Mr. Sameer Vashishth, SC (Civil),
GNCTD.
Mr Amit Tiwari CGSC, Ms Ayushi
Srivastava, Mr Arpan Narwal Mr
Kushagra Malik, Mr Ujjwal Tyagi,
Advs. for UOI.
Mr Anand Prakash, Standing Counsel
for MCD with Ms Varsha Arya,
Advocate
Mrs. Avnish Ahlawat, SC, GNCTD
Services, Mr. Nitesh Kumar Singh, Dr.
Vinod Kumar (Medical Director GTB
hospital)
7(SDB) AND
# CNR No. DLHC014464172017
+ W.P.(C) 8548/2017, CM APPLs. 985/2024, 50101/2024, 840/2026
COURT ON ITS OWN MOTION .....Petitioner
Through: Mr. Ashok Agarwal, Amicus
versus
UNION OF INDIA AND ORS .....Respondents
Through: Mr. Sameer Vashishth, SC (Civil),
W.P.(C) 3903/2017 & connected matters Page 1 of 15
Signature Not Verified
Signed By:DHIRENDER
KUMAR
Signing Date:03.11.2026
10:41:53
GNCTD.
Mrs Avnish Ahlawat SC GNCT with
Mr. Nitish Kumar Singh, Advocate.
Mr. Abheet Mangleek, Advocate for
R-3 to 5.
8 AND
# CNR No. DLHC010791552025
+ W.P.(C) 15834/2025& CM APPL.64835/2025
KUTUMB THROUGH ITS TRUSTEE .....Petitioner
Through: Mr. Rudra Vikram Singh, Mr.
Virendra Vikram, Ms. Rashmi & Mr.
Sanat Vadhera, Advs.
versus
UNION OF INDIA AND ORS. .....Respondents
Through: Ms. Avshreya Pratap Singh Rudy,
CGSC, Ms. Usha Jamnal, Ms. Nyasa
Sharma, Mr. Abhinav Mall, Ms.
Nishtha Dhall & Mr. Ankit Khatri,
Advs. for UOI.
CORAM:
JUSTICE PRATHIBA M. SINGH
JUSTICE MANMEET PRITAM SINGH ARORA
Prathiba M. Singh, J. (Oral)
1. This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.
2. On the last date of hearing i.e., 18th September, 2026 the Court had
considered various issues with respect to the functioning of 38 government
hospitals across Delhi, including streamlining the process of a common
helpline number for information across the hospitals, appointment of referral
coordinators in each hospital, appointment of regular Medical
Superintendents/Medical Directors (hereinafter ‘ M.S./M.D. ’ respectively)
across all 38 hospitals in Delhi as also the issues pertaining to unused
equipments lying in the hospitals.
3. With respect to the said issues, this Court had issued various directions
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Signature Not Verified
Signed By:DHIRENDER
KUMAR
Signing Date:03.11.2026
10:41:53
to the Secretary, Department of Health & Family Welfare, GNCTD to hold
meetings with the concerned persons and file their status reports on each of
the aspects.
4. Today, pursuant to the directions passed by this Court on 18th
September, 2026, out of the 38 hospitals, the M.S./M.D./Director of LNJP
Hospital, GTB Hospital, DDU Hospital, G.B. Pant Hospital and Sanjay
Gandhi Hospital are present in the Court physically along with Special
Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Delhi Government.
5. Further, Mr. Sameer Vashisht, ld. Counsel for Government of National
Capital Territory of Delhi (hereinafter ‘ GNCTD ’) has placed on record a soft
copy of the status report. Let the same be brought on record by the ld. Counsel.
6. In the said status report, pursuant to the directions passed by this Court
on 18th September, 2026, the stand of GNCTD with respect to the various
aspects is as under:
Toll Free Number
7. On 18th September, 2026, as per the minutes of meeting placed before
the Court on the said date, the Court had directed Mr. Alok Kumar Divedi,
Head of Operations of the Centralised Accident and Trauma Services
(hereinafter ‘ CATS ’) to make a data sheet for at least a month, mapping the
number of calls dropped on one day and the number of lines and operators
that need to be increased on the toll free number “102” which was identified
as the dedicated number to assist patients and their family members in respect
of availability of ICU beds in all 38 government hospitals across Delhi.
8. Further, the Court directed Mr. Divedi, HOO (CATS) to file a status
report after analysing the data and take steps for increasing the lines and the
operators.
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Signature Not Verified
Signed By:DHIRENDER
KUMAR
Signing Date:03.11.2026
10:41:53
9. Mr. Divedi, HOO (CATS) is present today in Court.
10. A perusal of the status report filed by Mr. Vashishth, ld. Standing
Counsel shows that the data for the month of September, 2026 has been
analysed.
11. Mr. Divedi has also handed over the data for October, 2026 which is
extracted below -
12. The data across September to October shows that the average calls
received are approximately 2000-2300 every month and the call drop rate is
around 300-500 per week.
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Signature Not Verified
Signed By:DHIRENDER
KUMAR
Signing Date:03.11.2026
10:41:53
13. The number of ICU bed enquiries in September, 2026 was 57 and in
the month of October, 2026, it is stated to be 41. He submits that the dashboard
facility has been made accessible to all the operators who are answering the
calls. In addition, whenever there are enquiries which are made, the caller is
provided the number of the concerned Referral Coordinator in each hospital
depending on the nature of the request. On the basis of the existing data for
the month of September, 2026 the status report states as under:
14. As can be seen from the above, the recommendation of Mr Divedi,
HOO (CATS) is that, on the basis of the existing call traffic, if ten additional
helpdesk lines are created, the same would be sufficient. He submits that upon
training the Operators, as compared to September, 2026, in the month of
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Signature Not Verified
Signed By:DHIRENDER
KUMAR
Signing Date:03.11.2026
10:41:53
October, 2026, the call drop rate had also reduced.
15. Accordingly, the GNCTD shall make all the necessary arrangements
for an increase of ten additional helpdesk lines along with corresponding
manpower for 24x7 operation. This would increase the existing capacity from
30 to 40 seats/helpdesk lines.
16. The Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, GNCTD shall take the
necessary steps within the next four weeks and a status report shall be filed in
this regard.
17. Mr Divedi, HOO (CATS) shall also randomly be in touch with the
Referral Coordinators just to ensure that the Coordinators are functioning and
are available for helping patients.
Referral Coordinators
18. The Court on the previous occasion had perused the list of ‘ referral
coordinators’, i.e., persons who can be the focal point of contact whenever
patients are referred from one hospital to another.
19. As per the list, it was seen that there is only one referral coordinator
each, who has been nominated in 37 of the 38 hospitals - thereby, the Court
had directed that the list ought to be updated to at least three referral
coordinators round the clock, to facilitate patients who are referred from one
hospital to the other.
20. Today, as per the status report placed before the Court the list of
Referral Coordinators along with their mobile numbers and landline numbers
have been identified for three shifts round the clock and dedicated for patients
who seek ICU beds or any other assistance.
21. The list of Referral Coordinators along with their mobile numbers be
put up on the website of the Delhi Government to ensure easy access to the
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Signature Not Verified
Signed By:DHIRENDER
KUMAR
Signing Date:03.11.2026
10:41:53
patients who are calling or looking for ICU beds.
22. In any event, Mr Divedi, HOO (CATS) shall periodically keep
verifying that the said Referral Coordinators are available.
Medical Superintendent/Medical Directors
23. On the previous date the Court had directed that in the hospitals where
there are no M.S./M.D . including the Society-Run hospitals, the first step
ought to be to recruit a regular full time M.D. or M.S. or a Director in the said
hospitals.
24. Today, out of 38 hospitals, the status of the appointment of the Medical
Superintendents/Medical Directors in 31 of these hospitals is stated to be as
under:
S.
No.
Name of Officer/Doctor Posted as
1 Dr. Rati Makkar, CMO (SAG) Director General, Directorate
General of Health Services
2 Dr. B.L. Chaudhary, Dir. Prof.
(Forensic Science)
MD, Lok Nayak Hospital
3 Dr. Muhammad Abid Geelani,
Dir. Prof. (CTWS)
MD, Govind Ballabh Pant
Hospital
4 Dr. Suresh Kumar, Dir. Prof.
(Medicine)
Director Principal, Dr. Baba
Saheb Ambedkar Medical
College
5 Dr. Meenakshi Sidhar, CMO
(SAG)
MD, Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar
Hospital
6 Dr. Mrigendra Das, CMO (HAG) MD, Deen Dayal Upadhyay
Hospital
7 Dr. Satyendra Kumar, CMO
(SAG)
MS, Guru Gobind Singh Govt.
Hospital
8 Dr. Hema Malik, CMO (SAG) MD, Burari Hospital
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Signed By:DHIRENDER
KUMAR
Signing Date:03.11.2026
10:41:53
9 Dr. Jyotsana Bharti, CMO (SAG) MS, Satyawadi Raja Harish
Chandra Hospital
10 Dr. Akhilesh Kumar Verma,
CMO (SAG)
MS, Lal Bahadur Shastri
Hospital
11 Dr. Vatsala Agrawal, CMO
(SAG)
MS, Deep Chand Bandhu
Hospital
12 Dr. Manoj Kumar, CMO (SAG) MS, Bhagwan Mahavir Hospital
13 Dr. Praween Kumar Dalmia,
CMO (SAG)
MS, Dr. Hedgewar Arogya
Sansthan
14 Dr. Mrityunjay, CMO (SAG) MS, Sanjay Gandhi Memorial
Hospital
15 Dr. Poonam, CMO (SAG) MS, Rao Tula Ram Memorial
Hospital
16 Dr. Uma K., CMO (SAG) MS, Acharya Shree Bhikshu
Hospital
17 Dr. Jitendra Kumar, CMO (SAG) MS, Maharishi Valmiki Hospital
18 Dr. Renu Gur, Consultant
(Microbiology)
MS, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel
Hospital
19 Dr. Sushma Jain, CMO (SAG) MS, Jag Pravesh Chandra
Hospital
20 Dr. Meenakshi Thakkar, Dir.
Prof. (Ophthalmology)
Director, Guru Nanak Eye
Centre
21 Dr. Vinod Kumar, Dir. Prof.
(Ortho)
MD, Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital
22 Dr. Megh Nath Singh, CMO
(SAG)
MS, Aruna Asaf Ali Govt.
Hospital
23 Dr. Gaurav Sangh Pradhan, Dir.
Prof. (Radiology)
MD, Indira Gandhi Hospital
24 Dr. Sudha Sachdeva, CMO
(SAG)
MS, Dr. N.C. Joshi Memorial
Hospital
25 Dr. A. G. Radhika, Consultant
(OB&G)
Director, Directorate of Family
Welfare
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Signature Not Verified
Signed By:DHIRENDER
KUMAR
Signing Date:03.11.2026
10:41:53
26 Dr. Ritu Dharmarha, CMO
(SAG)
MD, Ambedkar Nagar Hospital
27 Dr. G.P. Kaushal, CMO (SAG) MS, Pt. Madan Mohan Malviya
Hospital
28 Dr. Diwakar, CMO(SAG) MS, Attar Sain Jain Eye and
General Hospital
29 Dr. Puja Sakhuja, Director
Professor
Medical Director, Govind
Ballabh Pant Hospital
30 Dr. Jyoti Sachdeva, CMO (SAG) Medical Superintendent, Sardar
Vallabh Bhai Patel Hospital
31 Dr. Poonam Laul, Consultant
(SAG) (Obst. & Gynae.)
Medical Superintendent, Dr.
N.C. Joshi Memorial Hospital
25. Insofar as two more hospitals of the Delhi Government are concerned
i.e., Dr. N.C. Joshi Memorial Hospital and Guru Nanak Eye Centre, there are
no Medical Superintendents/Medical Director. Mr. Vashisth submits that the
file has been moved to the National Capital Civil Service Authority
(hereinafter ‘ NCCSA )’ under the Government of National Capital Territory of
Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2023. The said authority is a body consisting of three
members i.e., Hon’ble the Chief Minister of Delhi, the Chief Secretary,
GNCTD and the Principal Home Secretary of Delhi.
26. Insofar as these two hospitals are concerned, it is a matter of concern
that the hospitals are functioning without a M.D. or M.S. There is an urgent
need to fill up the post of M.D/M.S. in the said two hospitals.
27. Accordingly, the Chief Secretary, GNCTD shall immediately take steps
for coordinating and convening a meeting of the NCCSA so that the
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appointment of the MD/MS for these hospitals can be done by 30 November,
2026.
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Signature Not Verified
Signed By:DHIRENDER
KUMAR
Signing Date:03.11.2026
10:41:53
28. Insofar as the 8 Society run hospitals are concerned, it is seen that out
of 8 Society run hospitals, Institute of Human Behaviour & Allied Sciences
has Dr. R. K. Dhamija, as the Medical Director on deputation. Insofar as 7
remaining hospitals are concerned, there, the concerned MD/MS are on
additional charge or by seniority and no regular appointment has been made.
29. The appointment or nomination of doctors on additional charge basis
would be a completely inefficient process in respect of both the hospitals
where the said MD/MS is functioning. These hospitals need full time MS/MD
and considering the footfall and resource crunch in these hospitals, sharing of
MS/MD would result in lack of efficient administration and governance.
30. Mrs. Avnish Ahlawat, ld. Standing Counsel for GNCTD submits that
interviews for the 7 society run hospitals for the post of M.D/M.S is scheduled
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to be held on 31 October, 2026. According to Mrs. Ahlawat the same was a
long process involving framing of rules, issuance of advertisements, etc.
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31. Since the interviews are being held on 31 October, 2026, let the
appointment of all the M.D/M.S. for these 7 society run hospitals be carried
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out by 25 November, 2026 and the status report be placed on record by 30
November, 2026.
Recruitment of Staff and issue of equipment and unutilized equipment in
all the Hospitals
32. Insofar as the issue relating to unused equipment lying in hospitals and
recruitment of staff due to shortage is concerned, the Court had, upon noting
severe deficiency across several government hospitals, been informed that
there is no technically qualified manpower for using the equipment.
33. The Court had directed that a strict timeline would have to be
prescribed by the Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, GNCTD, for
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Signed By:DHIRENDER
KUMAR
Signing Date:03.11.2026
10:41:53
recruitment of the required staff.
34. Thus, a meeting was directed to be held between Secretary, Health and
Family Welfare, GNCTD, and also Secretary, Services, GNCTD, to hold a
meeting with the MS/MD of each of the 38 hospitals in Delhi. Pursuant to the
said direction, a meeting is stated to have been held on 28th September, 2026
under the chairmanship of the Secretary, Health and Family Welfare,
GNCTD, where as per the minutes of the meeting it was directed as follows -
35. Today a chart has been placed on record in the status report, which
shows that a substantial number of posts are lying vacant in the following
categories.
(i) General Duty Medical Officer (hereinafter ‘ GDMO ’)
(ii) Non Teaching Staff (hereinafter ‘ NTS ’)
(iii) Paramedical Staff (hereinafter ‘ PMS’ )
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Signature Not Verified
Signed By:DHIRENDER
KUMAR
Signing Date:03.11.2026
10:41:53
The total vacant positions as per the status report are as under:
Post Total
Sanctioned
Posts
Filled Posts Vacant Posts
General Duty
1785 1140 645
Medical Officer
Non Teaching
926 520 406
Staff
Paramedical
4462 3658 804
Staff
36. Recruitment to these positions happens through two sources, one is the
Union Public Service Commission (hereinafter ‘ UPSC ’) and the other is Delhi
Subordinate Services Selection Board (hereinafter ‘ DSSSB ’).
37. Mr. Ravinder Aggarwal, ld. Counsel for the UPSC is present in Court
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Signature Not Verified
Signed By:DHIRENDER
KUMAR
Signing Date:03.11.2026
10:41:53
today.
38. Let a requisition be sent by the Delhi Government for vacant positions
of GDMOs and NTSs within two weeks to the UPSC. The UPSC, as an
exceptional case, shall commence the process of recruitment without waiting
for the annual cycle of submission in January to March, 2027.
39. The UPSC shall, by the next date of hearing, file a status report as to
whether it has received the said requisition and whether the process of
recruitment has been initiated or not.
40. In the meantime, the Court is informed that under the orders of Hon’ble
Lieutenant Governor , all the MSs/MDs have been permitted to retain
contractual staff for these positions in order to ensure that the functioning of
these hospitals is not impeded in any manner.
41. Accordingly, MSs/MDs of each of the hospitals shall take steps for
engaging the contractual employees for GDMOs & NTSs as per the
permissible and applicable guidelines.
42. The MSs/MDs shall be responsible for engaging necessary contractual
employees through the Board, which has been created for the said purpose,
which is stated to be headed by Dr. Munisha Aggarwal, Dean, Maulana Azad
Medical College, Delhi.
43. The Dean, Maulana Azad Medical College shall along with other Board
members, take urgent steps for recruitment of contractual employees in all
these three categories without any further delay. The said process shall be
completed within a period of two months from today and Dr. Munisha
Aggarwal, shall be present in Court on the next date of hearing and submit a
status report as to the steps undertaken for the recruitment of the contractual
employees and the strength of such employees employed.
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Signature Not Verified
Signed By:DHIRENDER
KUMAR
Signing Date:03.11.2026
10:41:53
44. Insofar as the Paramedical Staff is concerned, the MSs/MDs of the
respective hospitals shall take steps to engage contractual employees for all
the vacant positions within two months. The DSSSB shall file a status report
as to the status of the recruitment of Paramedical Staff for all the vacant
positions by the next date of hearing.
45. In the process of recruitment by UPSC and DSSSB, going by the past
experience, it appears that the persons, who are finally selected, may not join
their respective positions. Accordingly, an adequate waiting list shall be
maintained by the concerned authority.
46. Insofar as the equipment in all these hospitals is concerned, this Court
would like, in an illustrative manner, to look at the five hospitals i.e. LNJP
Hospital, GTB Hospital, DDU Hospital, G.B. Pant Hospital and Sanjay
Gandhi Hospital which are stated to be amongst the biggest GNCTD run
hospitals.
47. In these hospitals, the concerned MSs/MDs who are present in Court,
shall create a list of the required equipment and unutilized equipment and take
steps to write to the Delhi Government for sanctioning of any such equipment,
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which are required. Let these five hospitals submit such requisition by 30
November, 2026.
48. The Health Secretary, GNCTD shall look into the same and hold a
meeting with the above named MSs/MDs and approve the necessary
equipment.
49. One of the main issues that has been flagged is in respect of shortage
of radiologists in Delhi Government hospitals. One of the solutions, which
was suggested earlier is to outsource the radiology related tests and have them
done by the private sector, the same being made available free to the patients,
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Signed By:DHIRENDER
KUMAR
Signing Date:03.11.2026
10:41:53
and funded by the Government.
50. In this regard, an assessment needs to be made by the Health Secretary,
GNCTD as to how much expenditure was incurred on use of private facilities
for such tests such as MRI, Ultrasound and scans etc. and whether the salaries
of contractual employees could be considered to be increased so that more
candidates are willing to join even on contractual basis.
51. In the meantime, let the MSs/MDs of all 38 hospitals hold a meeting
presided over jointly by Dr. B.L. Chaudhary, M.D.LNJP Hospital and Dr.
Puja Sakhuja, M.D. G.B. Pant Hospital, if Dr.Munisha Aggarwal is
unavailable. Let a common report be filed by the said doctors suggesting the
steps to be taken by the Delhi Government hospitals for ensuring availability
of equipment or availability of staff.
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52. The said meeting shall be held on 16 November, 2026 at 2:30 PM . In
the said meeting Mr. Yash Chaudhary, Special Secretary shall also be present
on behalf of the Delhi Government. Both Dr. Chaudhary and Dr Puja Sakhuja
shall also remain present in the Court on the next date of hearing.
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53. List on 17 December, 2026.
PRATHIBA M. SINGH
JUDGE
MANMEET PRITAM SINGH ARORA
JUDGE
OCTOBER 30, 2026
Rahul/dk/as
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Signature Not Verified
Signed By:DHIRENDER
KUMAR
Signing Date:03.11.2026
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