On Thursday, the division bench of the Calcutta High Court, comprising Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya, directed the SSKM Hospital authorities to submit an affidavit outlining the medical status of the patients considered "influential" who are currently admitted to the hospital.
The Court issued the order to the hospital authorities after hearing a PIL filed in December accusing the state’s premier health facility of becoming a safe shelter for leaders and their acolytes facing corruption and other charges.
Advocate Sushmita Saha Datta filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) claiming that SSKM had transformed into a sanctuary for certain political figures who were implicated in criminal cases and subsequently arrested by central investigating agencies. According to the PIL, this situation resulted in the infringement of other patients' rights to receive medical treatment at the multi-speciality hospital.
“Whenever a political leader or an influential person is arrested, they pretend illness and the lower courts send them to the hospital,” the lawyer said, moving the petition.
Sujay Krishna Bhadra, who was arrested due to suspected involvement in recruitment irregularities within government-aided schools, has spent more than four months under treatment at SSKM. Additionally, former food and civil supplies minister Jyotipriya Mallik, currently in custody over alleged irregularities in ration supplies, is also admitted to the same hospital.
The court mandated that the hospital authorities identify the count of influential and high-profile patients currently admitted, specifying their medical condition, the ongoing treatment, and an estimated timeline for the completion of their medical care.
In another matter, the same bench asked the SSKM authorities to inform the court about Bhadra’s ailments.
The order follows a case moved by a BJP lawyer claiming that the SSKM authorities were not providing an exact report on the health condition of Bhadra.
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