Full Judgment Text
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PETITIONER:
M/S. FARIDABAD CT SCAN CENTRE
Vs.
RESPONDENT:
D. G. HEALTH SERVICES & ORS.
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 15/09/1997
BENCH:
CJI, SUJATA V. MANOHAR, B. N. KIRPAL
ACT:
HEADNOTE:
JUDGMENT:
Present:
Hon’ble the Chief Justice
Hon’ble Mrs. justice Sujata V. Manohar
Hon’ble Mr. Justice B. N. Kirpal
Pradeep jain and Ms. Manjula Gupta, Adv, for the Petitioner.
N. K. Bajpai and W.A. Qadri, Adv. for the Respondents
O R D E R
The following Order of the Court was delivered:
This Petition for special leave was dismissed by an
order dated 16.12.96 passed by a bench of Two Judges -
Verma, J. (as he then was) and Kirpal, j. In view, however,
of a judgement of another Bench of two Judges (K. Ramaswamy
and G.B. Pattanaik, JJ.), in a similar matter Mediwell
Hospital & Ors,(1997<1) SCC 759) the order of 16.12.96 was
recalled by the order of 8.8.97. The reasons for recall as
set out in the order of 8.8.97 are:-
"After we had dismissed
S.L.P.(c) No. 23964 of 1996 on
16.12.96, another 2-Judge Bench
appears to have granted relief in a
similar matter which may give
impression that the view taken
therein different. It is,
therefore, appropriate that the
possible ambiguity or uncertainty
on the question of law should be
removed by judgement of a 3-judge
bench. We, therefore , recall our
order dated 16.12.1996 dismissing
the special leave petition and
direct that the special leave
petition be listed for hearing
before a 3-Judge Bench. The papers
be placed before the Hon’ble C.J.I.
for constituting the Bench.
Accordingly, we have heard the parties. In the case of
Mediwell Hospital & Health Care Pvt. Ltd. vs. Union of India
& Ors. (supra), this court on the merits of the view taken
by the Bench in this case while passing the order of
dismissal. In para 10 of that judgement it is recorded as
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follows:
"Thus a diagnostic centre run by a
private individual purely on
commercial basis may not be
entitled to the exemption under the
notification issued by the Central
Government. The conclusion of the
Central Government as well as that
of the High Court on this score,
therefore, may not be held to be
incorrect."
The court, however, granted relief to the appellant in
that case on the ground that several other individual
diagnostic centres not attached to any hospital had been
granted the exemption under the notification in question and
hence there should not be any discrimination against the
appellant under Article 14. The relief was granted entirely
on the basis of Article 14.
We fail to see how Article 14 can be attracted in cases
where wrong orders are issued in favour of others. Wrong
orders cannot be perpetuated with the help of Article 14 on
the such wrong orders were earlier passed in favour of some
other persons and, therefore, there will be discrimination
against them. In fact, in the case of Union of
India[Railway Board] & Ors. Vs. J. V. Subhaiah and Ors.
(1996 (2) SCC 258), the same Learned judge in his judgement
has observed in para 21 that the principle of equality
enshrined under Article 14 does not apply when the order
relied upon is unsustainable in law and is illegal. Such an
order cannot form the basis for holding that other employees
are discriminated against under Article 14. The benefits of
the exemption notification, in the present case, cannot,
therefore, be extended to the petitioner on the ground that
such benefit has been wrongly extended to others. With
respect, the decision in Mediwell hospital (supra) does
not lay down the correct law on this point.
In the premises, the special leave petition is
dismissed.