Court On Its Own Motion vs Union Of India And Ors
- Court
- Delhi High Court
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* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
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Date of Decision: 18 September, 2026
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Uploaded on: 21 September, 2026
# CNR No. DLHC012320462017
+ W.P.(C) 3903/2017
COURT ON ITS OWN MOTION .....Petitioner
Through: Mr. Vishwajeet Singh Bhati, Adv for
Mr. Siddharth Aggarwal Sr. Adv.
versus
UNION OF INDIA & ORS .....Respondents
Through: Ms. Arunima Dwivedi, CGSC with
Ms Himanshi Singh Adv Ms
Monalisha Pradhan Adv. for UOI.
Mr. Amit Tiwari, CGSC with Ms.
Ayushi Srivastava, Mr. Arpan Narwal
& Mr. Kushagra Malik, Advs. for
UOI.
Mr. V.S.R. Krishna, Adv. for AIIMS.
Mr. Ravinder Agarwal, Mr. Manish
Kumar Singh & Mr. Vasu Agarwal,
Advs. for UPSC.
Mrs Avnish Ahlawat, SC, GNCTD
Services, Mr Nitesh Kumar Singh, Ms
Aliza Alam, Mr Mohnish Sehrawat,
Advs.
Mr. Rakesh Malhotra, Mr. Bharat
Malhotra and Ms. Gayatri Bhatia -
Advocates for MCD.
Mr. Sagar Saxena, Mr. Krishnandu
Haldar, Mr. Abu Hassan Usmani,
Advs. for JACSDO.
Mrs Avnish Ahlawat SC GNCTD
Services, Mr Nitesh Kumar Singh &
Ms Aliza Alam, Advs.
W.P.(C) 3903/2017 & W.P.(C) 8548/2017 Page 1 of 13
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed
By:RAHUL
Signing Date:21.09.2026
18:06:25
6
# CNR No. DLHC014464172017
+ W.P.(C) 8548/2017
COURT ON ITS OWN MOTION .....Petitioner
Through: Mr Kumar Utkarsh, Adv. for Amicus -
Mr. Ashok Agarwal Adv.
versus
UNION OF INDIA AND ORS .....Respondents
Through: Mr. Ravinder Agarwal, Mr. Manish
Kumar Singh & Mr. Vasu Agarwal,
Advs. for UPSC.
Mr. V.S.R. Krishna, Adv. for AIIMS.
Ms Harshita Nathrani, Adv. for Mr.
Sameer Vashisht, Standing Counsel
(Civil)GNCTD
Mrs Avnish Ahlawat, SC, GNCTD
Services, Mr Nitesh Kumar Singh, Ms
Aliza Alam, Mr Mohnish Sehrawat,
Advs.
Mr. Rakesh Malhotra, Mr. Bharat
Malhotra and Ms. Gayatri Bhatia -
Advocates for MCD
CORAM:
JUSTICE PRATHIBA M. SINGH
JUSTICE MANMEET PRITAM SINGH ARORA
Prathiba M. Singh, J. (Oral)
1. On the last date of hearing i.e. 7th August, 2026, the Court had
considered various issues with respect to the functioning of 38 government
hospitals across Delhi, including the inconsistencies in use of NextGen e-
Hospital Management Information System (HMIS), streamlining the
process of a common helpline number for information across the
hospitals, appointment of referral coordinators in each hospital, as also
W.P.(C) 3903/2017 & W.P.(C) 8548/2017 Page 2 of 13
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed
By:RAHUL
Signing Date:21.09.2026
18:06:25
the issues pertaining to unused equipments lying in the hospitals.
2. With respect to the said issues, this Court had issued various directions
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.
3. Today, a status report has been handed over by Mr. Sameer Vashishth,
ld. Counsel for GNCTD on various aspects relating to management,
administration and recruitment in various hospitals across Delhi. The status
report is taken on record.
4. In the said status report, it is submitted that pursuant to the directions
passed by this Court on 7th August, 2026, a meeting was held on 17th August,
2026, chaired by the Secretary, Department of Health & Family Welfare,
GNCTD. Minutes of the meeting have also been placed on record along with
the status report. The stand of GNCTD with respect to the various aspects is
as under:
Toll Free Number
5. On 3rd July, 2026, the Court had directed GNCTD to consider setting
up of a toll free number to facilitate emergency services and ICU beds related
enquiries.
6. Pursuant to this direction, a status report was filed by GNCTD on 7th
August, 2026. However, the same was not clear as to which is the CATS
number which can be used for the said purpose and whether the persons who
are answering the CATS telephones are provided with the information
relating to availability of ICU beds and hospital speciality information or not.
Hence, GNCTD was directed to file a better status report giving more details
on this aspect.
W.P.(C) 3903/2017 & W.P.(C) 8548/2017 Page 3 of 13
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed
By:RAHUL
Signing Date:21.09.2026
18:06:25
7. In the minutes of the meeting placed before this Court today, the said
issue has been dealt with and the stand of the GNCTD is as under:
“In compliance with the Order dated 07.08.2026 passed
by the Hon'ble High Court of Delhi in W.P.(C)
3903/2017, a meeting was held under the Chairmanship
Secretary (Health & of Family Welfare), GNCTD on
25.08.2026. It was decided that the existing Toll-free
number "102" operated by Centralised Accident &
Trauma Services (CATS) shall be utilised as the
common helpline for emergency services and for
responding to public enquiries regarding availability
of ICU beds in order to provide a common helpline
number to citizens and avoid duplication of helpline
numbers.
Accordingly, on 02.09.2026, access to the ICU
Dashboard web portal has been provided to the CATS
Control Room (Toll Free No. 102) by the team
comprising officers of the Information Technology
Branch of H&FW Department, In-charge of the ICU
Dashboard and NIC. Requisite training on Dashboard
has also been imparted to the CATS Control Room
staff by the said team. A dedicated Desk for monitoring
real-time ICU bed availability has thus been made
functional at CATS. ”
8. As per the above, the toll free number “102” has been 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. The
operators on this toll free number who were earlier dealing with only
ambulances are stated to have now been given access to an ICU dashboard
portal so that whenever there is any enquiry in respect of the availability of
ICU beds, the concerned operator can inform the caller about the said
availability in a specific hospital, depending on the speciality as well.
W.P.(C) 3903/2017 & W.P.(C) 8548/2017 Page 4 of 13
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed
By:RAHUL
Signing Date:21.09.2026
18:06:25
9. Mr. Alok Kumar Divedi, the Head of Operations (CATS) is also present
in Court today. In his presence, a few calls were made at the “102” toll free
number, however, they were not attended to in the few initial attempts.
However, after some attempts, the call was answered by one operator and
enquiry was made to her about the availability of ICU beds. It was then noted
that the operator was able to access the ICU dashboard online and was able to
provide information with respect to the availability of ICU beds in the
government hospitals across Delhi.
10. However, it is also noticed from the conversation with the said operator
that there is definitely a shortage of ICU beds, even in the leading government
hospitals in Delhi, including LNJP Hospital and Deen Dayal Upadyay
Hospital.
11. In the opinion of the Court, the following aspect needs to be examined,
insofar as this toll free number is concerned:
i. Presently, there are 30 lines and 30 operators who are operating
these lines.
ii. This number would be required to be increased as the total number
of calls received on this dedicated number are stated to be around
2200 calls per day and there are at least 500 call drops everyday as
per Mr. Divedi, HOO (CATS).
12. Accordingly, Mr. Divedi, HOO (CATS) is directed to make a data sheet
for at least a month, mapping the number of calls received on the toll free
number on a daily basis, the number of calls dropped on one day and the
number of lines and operators that need to be increased on this toll free
number in order to make the service more efficient.
W.P.(C) 3903/2017 & W.P.(C) 8548/2017 Page 5 of 13
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed
By:RAHUL
Signing Date:21.09.2026
18:06:25
13. Mr. Divedi, HOO (CATS) has assured the Court that he would analyze
the data and take steps for increasing the lines and the operators, if so required.
14. Let a further status report be filed in this regard before the next date of
hearing.
15. In the event a need is found for increase in number of lines and the
operators is found by Mr. Divedi, the said feedback shall be communicated
by Mr. Divedi to the Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, GNCTD so that
the requisite steps can be taken for increasing the capacity, as required.
Referral Coordinators
16. The Court had observed on the previous occasion that when a patient is
referred from one government hospital to another, there is lack of coordination
between the respective government hospitals, leading to severe trouble to the
patient and their family, as also a loss of crucial time for these patients who
require urgent attention.
17. Hence, it was directed that steps should be taken to specifically
nominate ‘ referral coordinators ’ who can be the focal point of contact
whenever patients are referred from one hospital to another.
18. Today, the list of referral coordinators has been placed before the Court
which is set out below:
W.P.(C) 3903/2017 & W.P.(C) 8548/2017 Page 6 of 13
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed
By:RAHUL
Signing Date:21.09.2026
18:06:25
W.P.(C) 3903/2017 & W.P.(C) 8548/2017 Page 7 of 13
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed
By:RAHUL
Signing Date:21.09.2026
18:06:25
W.P.(C) 3903/2017 & W.P.(C) 8548/2017 Page 8 of 13
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed
By:RAHUL
Signing Date:21.09.2026
18:06:25
19. A perusal of the above list would show that there is only one referral
coordinator who has been nominated in 37 of the 38 hospitals.
20. Considering that doctors usually work in 8 to 10 hour shifts, there ought
to be at least three referral coordinators round the clock, to facilitate the
patients who are referred from one hospital to the other.
W.P.(C) 3903/2017 & W.P.(C) 8548/2017 Page 9 of 13
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed
By:RAHUL
Signing Date:21.09.2026
18:06:25
21. Let the said list be updated so that at any point in time there are referral
coordinators who are available in each of the hospitals to assist the patient
whenever the patient is moved from one hospital to another.
22. A further status report in this regard be also filed by the next date.
Unused equipment lying in hospitals & Recruitment of Staff
23. Insofar as the issue relating to unused equipment lying in the hospitals
and recruitment of staff due to severe shortage is concerned, the Court had
noted severe deficiencies across several government hospitals in Delhi on the
last date of hearing.
24. Upon query on the said issue on last date, the Court was informed that
there is no technically qualified manpower for using the equipment.
25. Hence, it was directed that the Secretary, Department of Health &
Family Welfare, GNCTD, along with the Secretary, Services, GNCTD shall
hold a meeting with concerned officials of the hospitals to analyse this
situation. In this regard as well, various issues have been recorded in the status
report. However, the Court is completely dissatisfied with the response.
26. From the submissions made and from a perusal of the status report it
becomes clear that Government hospitals in Delhi are facing enormous
difficulty in recruiting the necessary doctors and other necessary staff. There
is no uniform HR policy of the Delhi Government to take care of these
recruitments.
27. In addition, there appear to be several logistical and administrative
issues in respect of 8 Society-Run hospitals, such as the Delhi State Cancer
Institute.
28. In the opinon of this Court, the Secretary, Health and Family Welfare,
W.P.(C) 3903/2017 & W.P.(C) 8548/2017 Page 10 of 13
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed
By:RAHUL
Signing Date:21.09.2026
18:06:25
GNCTD would have to deal with the issue of recruitment in a centralised
manner, rather than allowing recruitment at the local level on a contractual
basis. As per the status report, a stop-gap arrangement is suggested by the
Secretary, Health & Family Welfare permitting the MS/MD of the respective
hospital to undertake contractual employment. The doctors who are present
from the Delhi Cancer Institute state that since 2019 there has been no full
time Medical Superindent. Under such circumstances, the filling up of
vacancies from the top till the bottom of the pyramid has to be done in a
manner so as to bring some consistency, clarity and permanency. Contractual
employment cannot be the answer to all problems. Unless the staff crunch
issue is addressed in a methodical manner, hospitals will continue to suffer
from lack of proper administration and there is a likelihood of high level of
attrition with contractual staff. This Court is also conscious of the fact that
contractual employment also blocks promotion avenues and results in
frustration amongst employees.
29. Upon perusal of the status report and minutes of the meeting held on
dated 13th August, 2026, it does not appear that after the said meeting had
taken place, any recruitment – even contractual, has even happened.
30. Insofar as the issue of unused equipment is concerned, the Court has
interacted with Dr. Neelam Bharti, M.S. at Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital,
Ashok Vihar, Delhi, and has realized that there are varying interpretations
being given to the term ‘unused equipment’ and hence, the responses being
filed by the hospitals in this regard are varied in nature.
31. Thus, this matter would have to be addressed comprehensively by the
Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, GNCTD, by making a chart of the total
number of sanctioned posts in each of the 38 hospitals at various levels, the
W.P.(C) 3903/2017 & W.P.(C) 8548/2017 Page 11 of 13
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed
By:RAHUL
Signing Date:21.09.2026
18:06:25
total number of filled up posts in each hospital and the total number of vacant
posts.
32. A strict timeline would have also to be prescribed by the Secretary,
Health and Family Welfare, GNCTD, for recruitment of the required staff.
33. Thus, on the aspect of recruitment let the Secretary, Health and Family
Welfare, GNCTD, as also the Secretary, Services, GNCTD, hold a fresh
meeting with the M.S./M.D. of each of the 38 hospitals in Delhi.
34. The Court is also unfortunately informed that in some hospitals there is
are not MS/MD as well. In the hospitals where there are no M.S./M.D.,
including the Society- Run hospitals, the first step would be to recruit a regular
full time M.S. or M.D. in the said hospitals.
35. If the recruitment process for M.S./M.D./Director of a hospital is going
to take some time, one of the senior faculty members or senior doctors in the
hospital shall be given charge as M.S./M.D./Director on an immediate basis
within a period of 15 days from the date of the Joint Meeting.
36. There should not be a single post of M.S./M.D./Director at the top in
any of the government hospitals i.e. 38 hospitals in Delhi, including the
Society-Run hospitals, which is left vacant.
37. Upon the filling up of all the M.S./M.D./Director positions, the said
M.S./M.D./Director shall submit the existing staff strength, along with the
status of the vacancies in their respective hospitals, to the Secretary, Health
and Family Welfare, Delhi Government, which shall be brought before the
Court on the next date of hearing.
38. All the M.S./M.D./Directors of 38 hospitals in Delhi shall join the
proceedings virtually or physically on the next date of hearing.
W.P.(C) 3903/2017 & W.P.(C) 8548/2017 Page 12 of 13
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed
By:RAHUL
Signing Date:21.09.2026
18:06:25
39. 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
which are stated to be the biggest GNCTD run hospitals, shall be present in
Court physically on the next date of hearing along with the Secretary, Health
and Family Welfare, Delhi Government.
40. Further, an additional status report shall be filed in respect of the unused
equipment, especially, MRI, CT Scan, PET Scan, USG machine, and provide
details as to in which hospitals these facilities are available and where there
is adequate regular or contractual manpower to run these equipment or not.
While giving these details, use by consultants on a random basis shall not be
constituted as use of equipment. Any equipment which is not available for use
of patients on a daily basis with proper manpower shall be treated to be unused
equipment.
th
41. List on 10 October, 2026.
PRATHIBA M. SINGH
JUDGE
MANMEET PRITAM SINGH ARORA
JUDGE
SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
dj/dk/ss
W.P.(C) 3903/2017 & W.P.(C) 8548/2017 Page 13 of 13
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed
By:RAHUL
Signing Date:21.09.2026
18:06:25