Ganga Ram hospital moves high court against Delhi government’s FIR

The Delhi government had filed an FIR against the medical superintendent of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Rajendra Nagar for allegedly not following protocols for testing Covid-19 patients.

The administration of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital has filed a plea in the Delhi high court, seeking the scrapping of an FIR based on a complaint by the Delhi government for allegedly not following Covid-19 testing guidelines.

An ambulance parked outside the entrance to the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital that has been converted into a dedicated Covid-19 faciity, in New Delhi. (Sonu Mehta/HT PHOTO)

The plea, which is likely to be heard on Monday, also sought the setting aside of an order passed by the Delhi government on June 3 that prohibited the hospital from testing for Covid-19. Earlier, on June 3, the the hospital was asked by the Delhi government in an order to stop Covid-19 testing, citing violations of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines.

However, the order was later recalled on Saturday and the hospital authorities were again allowed to resume testing.

The Delhi government had filed an FIR against the medical superintendent of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Rajendra Nagar for allegedly not following protocols for testing Covid-19 patients. The FIR was filed last week on the basis of a complaint by Delhi’s deputy health secretary, Amit Kumar Pamasi.

The public relations officer of Ganga Ram Hospital refused to comment on the plea in the high court.

The Delhi Medical Association had, in a press statement, condemned the FIR and called the case against the hospital’s health workers “highly demoralising” during a pandemic.

The FIR has been filed under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code that allows a punishment of one month’s simple imprisonment and/or ₹200 fine or six months imprisonment and/ or ₹1,000 fine if the offence puts human life at risk. The IPC section can be invoked under the Epidemic Diseases Act, which has been in force in Delhi since mid-March.

“The order of Health and Family Welfare Department regarding guidelines for tracking and monitoring of every Covid-19 suspected cases tested in various accredited labs across Delhi wherein it was mandatory for the labs to collect sample only through the Delhi government’s RT-PCR App. Further CDMO (Chief District Medical Officer) cum mission director, Central, mentioned that Sir Ganga Ram hospital is still not using RT-PCR app even till today (03/06) which is a clear violation of direction issued under Epidemic Disease Covid-19 regulation 2020,” a copy of the FIR read.