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| DB passes directions for closure of unregistered medical establishments | | |
Srinagar, October 10 – In a case of Mr. G. M. Khan v/s State of Jammu and Kashmir and others, the division bench comprising Mr. Justice B. A. Khan and Mr. Justice Bashir Ahmed Kirmani has passed the following additional directions.
The Directors of Health Services, Kashmir and Jammu shall have two months time from receipt of this order to complete the process of registration and to decide the pending cases in accordance with the prescribed criteria/rules. They shall thereafter take steps to close down all such establishments whose request for registration is rejected.
The Government through Chief Secretary is again directed to expedite sanction related to re-organization/augmentation of staff of Controller, Drugs Organization and make it more effective and potent in the light of the problems being faced in implementation of provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Food Adulteration Act. The Principal Secretary/Commissioner-Secretary, Planning Department is directed and so are all concerned, to speed up the process of according respective sanctions and to take a decision on the proposal submitted by the Controller, Drugs organization within two months from receipt of this order. Meanwhile, the Principal Secretaries to Government, General Administration department and health and Medical education Department are also directed to explore if some staff could be spared for constituting inspection team in the Drug Controller Organization to ensure effective implementation of directions passed by this court. Commissioner/Secretary to Government, health is also directed to take immediate steps for providing two vehicles to the organization one each at Jammu and Kashmir within one month from this order to improve mobility of its inspection teams which have to inspect the establishments not only in cities but also in districts and blocks as well.
It may be recalled that this court had directed constitution of a committee for examining problems of spurious drug trade in the state and for recommending ways and means to deal with it, and had granted two months time to this committee to report to the government and also to this court. Nothing has been said or indicated in the affidavit filed by the Principal Secretary about constitution of this committee or whether any report was prepared by it in compliance to Court directions. The Principal Secretary, H&ME is again directed to take necessary immediate steps in this regard and to report the action taken by him in the matter.
We are surprised at the inaction of Public Service Commission in completing process of selection for 244 posts of Assistant Surgeons which was directed by this court to ensure better medical care in rural sector. By Court order dated 24th July, 2006 Commission’s counsel was required to inform the court about the status of the selection process but sadly enough, neither he nor any one from the commission has bothered to make any representation before the court today. In this regard, the state counsel has drawn our attention to government’s latest communication dated 18th September, 2006 addressed to Secretary, Public Service Commission asking him to speed up the process of selection and to implement the court orders. Despite all this, the commission has failed to inform the court about status of the process, if any, undertaken by it. Notice shall, accordingly, be issued to the Chairman of Public Service Commission along-with an extract of this order requiring him to submit status report of the Commission on the subject one week in advance before the next date and to take immediate steps to complete the selections within two months from receipt of this order to overcome the acute shortage of medical service in rural areas. The Secretary of the Commission is also directed to remain personally present before this court to explain his position on the issue on next date.
The action taken report submitted by the Commissioner, vigilance organization leaves no scope for doubt that the organization has only done a lip service in implementing the court directions. This organization, it may be recalled was directed to constitute inspection teams to conduct surprise checks and to locate if the closed/ sealed unregistered private hospitals/nursing homes/clinical establishments were still carrying on their business after breaking the seals put by the Health Department. The Commissioner has failed to show in his report that any such surp0rise checks were conducted or that any case of such establishment where seals were broken was found. On the contrary, the organization seems to have evolved and adopted its own method of conducting inspections of some selected establishments in association with the Health department which has defeated the very purpose for which the inspection teams were to be set up, besides taking away the element of surprise as was required by the court order. The Commissioner along with SSP concerned who is present in the Court are redirected to obtain list of closed establishments from the two Directors of Health Services and the controller Drugs Organization and then to evolve and adopt a phased programme of surprise inspections in different sectors and to proceed against violators which may involve lodging of FIRs or even arrest of concerned in cases of open defiance of court orders.
This Court had directed Deputy Commissioners of all Districts to constitute committees/ inspection teams to locate the unregistered establishments in their respective areas of jurisdiction and to ensure that they were closed down as per orders passed by the court, but no action seems to have been taken by them in compliance to the court directions. Deputy Commissioners and SSPs of all districts are again directed to report compliance of the court directions and to submit status reports of action taken by them on findings of the committees set up by them and to ensure that no unregistered/unlicensed establishment was allowed to operate in their respective areas of jurisdiction. We are informed that Drug Controller has reported several cases to Deputy Commissioners concerned and also had lodged FIRs with various police stations. Therefore, all SSPs are directed to find out status of those FIRs and to expedite action against defaulters and submit a report before the court on the next date.
Controller, Drugs organization is also directed to ensure enforcement of his closure orders and to seek assistance of vigilance organization/ Deputy Commissioners/SSPs wherever needed. However, in case any owner of such establishment applies to him for permission to open his shop on ground of change of business, he shall examine the request and taken necessary steps to unseal/reopen such establishment to allow him to carry on such business. Drugs/medicines any lying with such establishment owner shall be dealt with in accordance with rules.
All concerned authorities are directed to submit fresh action taken reports within one week before the next date.
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