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2009 (9) TMI 1074

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....nes to the poor and needy citizens at the respondent No.2 hospital. It is contended inter alia that such inaction of both the respondents is adversely affecting the mandates of Articles 21, 39(e), 41, and 47 of Constitution of India. In course of proceedings, the Union of India and the Delhi Development Authority were also impleaded as party respondents. Before appreciating the issues under consideration in the present petition, a brief historical background is essential. THE BACKGROUND FACTS 2. In 1986, the Delhi Administration (now the Government of NCT of Delhi), in order to utilize the then incomplete Players‟ Building near IP Stadium, lying vacant with its Medical Department, initiated the decision to open a multi-disciplinary super specialty hospital on „no profit no loss‟ basis, after inviting offers from private institutions. A notice was issued in this regard which has been placed on record and accordingly, building along with the land was to be made available free of cost provided the hospital is, on the whole, run on a „no profit no loss‟ basis providing free medical and other facilities to at least 1/3rd of its indoor patients and 40%....

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.... shall provide to Administrator the free facilities of medical diagnostic and other necessary care to not less than 1/3rd of the total capacity of 600 beds in the multi specialty hospital. It further provided that the hospital will also provide free of cost full medical diagnostic and other necessary facilities to 40% of the patients attending OPD of the hospital. The relevant clauses of the Joint Venture Agreement are as follows: 23. The proposed company shall soon after its registration as a public company enter into the lease/licence agreement with the Administrator in the form approved by him, for occupying the building situated next to Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium which is in possession of Medical Department of the Delhi Administration. The proposed company shall provide to the administrator the free facilities of medical, diagnostic and other necessary care through not less than one-third of the total capacity of 600 beds in the multi-specialty hospital as contemplated in this agreement or any part thereof which may be commissioned for the time. The hospital will also provide free of cost full medical, diagnostic and other necessary facilities to 40% of patient atten....

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....l diagnostic and such other facilities to the agreed proportion of indoor and out door patients. 6. However, subsequently the Players‟ Building (where the establishment of hospital was initially planned) could not be used as the land was requisitioned by Sports Authority of India (SAI). Thus, a fresh agreement was entered into being the lease deed dated 16.03.1994 and an alternative area of 15 acres of land on Delhi-Mathura road, Jasola Village, Delhi (where the hospital at present located and functional) was leased out at a nominal rate of Re. 1 per month to the IMCL. The fresh lease deed amongst other terms and conditions, provided that a sum of Rs.14.83 crores out of Rs.15.478 crores received from SAI by way of compensation would be deposited in an interest bearing account in a Nationalized bank for the construction of the hospital building at a new site. Apart from Rs.14.83 crores plus interest, a further sum of Rs. 23.83 crores was paid by way of equity capital by the GNCTD to the joint venture. Thus, a total sum of Rs.38.66 crores (plus interest on Rs.14.83 crores) along with 15 acres of prime land on Delhi-Mathura road was leased out at the rate of Rupee 1 per month....

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.... interpretation of an agreement and contractual obligations arising therefrom which could not be made subject matter of a writ petition. It described IMCL as a commercial venture jointly undertaken inter alia by the GNCTD, Apollo Group of Hospital and Schroder Capital Partners (Asia) Ltd., through another company providing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), for establishing a modern multi-speciality hospital. It contended that the hospital was meant to be a "self-generating project" wherein cost of free services, if any to be rendered to the poor and needy, would have to be generated from the revenue earned commercially, keeping a balance between the two activities, to be viable. While submitting that the hospital could not be equated with facilities run by the government with the help of grants to provide free medical aid, IMCL pleaded that its obligations were well defined and clearly set out in the two basic documents namely, the Joint Venture Agreement dated 11th March, 1988 and the lease deed dated 16th March, 1994 executed by the Lt. Governor of GNCTD, neither of which required it to provide free medicines or consumables. 9. In above context it referred to Clause 7 of the Jo....

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.... capacity of 600 beds for a continuous period of not less than six months." (emphasis supplied) 11. Disowning any responsibility to provide free medical aid to poor and needy, IMCL set out in affidavit dated 21st January, 1998, the following defences:- 1. The hospital was yet not "fully commissioned", inasmuch as only 350 beds had become operational wherein average daily occupancy for the preceding six months was only 262. 2. The expression "medical and diagnostic facilities" as used in the lease deed does not include the cost of medicines and medical consumables, inasmuch as the qualifying word "free" had been consciously omitted from the stipulations in this context. 3. Unlike government hospitals and charitable institutions, IMCL, a public limited company, was answerable to the investors and the financial institutions supporting the venture through loans, the agreements in which regard carried no such obligations. Instead IMCL, providing medicare services through huge investments for establishing proper infrastructure, was required to ensure profitable and efficient working of the corporate hospitals run by it. 4. Though GNCTD is a....

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....covering at least 21 clinical specialities with routine radiological, pathological investigative facilities, with arrangement for complicated surgeries in the main hospital. He also referred to arrangements negotiated with eminent consultants to provide free professional consultancy services and decisions taken not to charge for registration and admission, bed, treatment, surgeries and investigations (excluding medicines and medical consumables), nursing, food, housekeeping services, maintenance and preservation of records etc. While insisting that "medicines" and "medical consumables" cannot be covered under the freeship, he described these expressions as follows:- "Medicines: Medicines include all items of medicines, drugs and pharmaceutical items including oral drugs, intravenous and intramuscular injectibles, intravenous fluids, vaccines for immunisation, dye and other contrast media, all dermatalogicals preparations for external use, ENT drops, disposables and such other items. Medical consumables: Materials include all consumables and disposable items used in the operation theatre, cath lab, cine angro film,DSA lab, lithotripsy theatre, etc....

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.... suggestion to sit down with the counsel for the GNCTD and the petitioner to prepare a table of ailments and the medicines required for, which cannot be provided free, and which should be paid for by the patients and the medicines which can be provided free of cost, or on payment of charges and possibility of subsidizing such medicines. This Court passed an interim order dated 30th April, 1998 recording these suggestions and proposed consultations and a report was to be filed by the IMCL. The proposed mutual consultations between the IMCL and the GNCTD never materialized. The IMCL, in letter written to the petitioner and the GNCTD and report submitted to this Court, reiterated its stand that medicines and medical consumables cannot be provided as it is neither provided in the agreement between the parties nor it is possible for the hospital to provide the same free of cost. 17. The Principal Secretary (Health), GNCTD had appointed a committee on 4th July, 1998 to visit the hospital to see the arrangements made regarding free treatment in terms of directions of this Court. The committee comprising of the Director, GB Pant Hospital, Medical Superintendent, LNJP Hospital and Medica....

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....ctance on the part of the hospital authorities in sharing material information felt constrained to submit its report on the basis of scrutiny of some documents provided by the hospital and observations made during inspection carried out on 24th February, 2003. In its report dated 5th March, 2003 the Committee brought out certain glaring deficiencies in the arrangements and discriminatory treatment qua poor patients referred for free treatment, including the following: a) The space norms, specification and services for poor patients are of much lower standards when compared with paid patients. b) No procedure had been established for identifying patients entitled to freeship. c) The area made available (2935 sq.mtrs.) for poor patients out of the total built up area (38580 sq.mtrs) works out only 7.6%. d) Free patients are entitled only to general wards, each accommodating about 50 beds with common toilets, as against paid patients having provision for luxury suites, single rooms, double rooms, general wards (with 5 to 6 beds only), all with attached toilets. e) Each paid patient on an average has available to him 72.45 sq.mtrs of space a....

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....its first report. The Committee took a random sample for the months of March, August and December for the previous five years and as per the details submitted it was found that out of a total of 38,120 number of paid indoor patients, only 939 were free indoor patients, which comes to 2.46% of the paid indoor patients, which needless to say, was much smaller than the agreed ratio of 1/3rd indoor patients entitled for free treatment. There was not much improvement in the infrastructure and facilities available for the free patients except that the air cooling system was made functional. 23. On the issue of space per bed, it was observed that floor area norms for a standard hospital bed were not complied with and beds were placed almost abutting each other without any proper circulation space. The Committee noted that there was no improvement in the hospital facilities for free indoor patients. Though the hospital was specifically asked to furnish specific details regarding various categories of patients recommended by the GNCTD, no details were provided. It was found that almost all the recommendation letters were written by the Health Minister. It was pointed out by the hospital ....

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.... radius of five kilometers. Instructions in this regard should be issued by the GNCTD to government hospitals and dispensaries to refer such patients for free treatment to Apollo. The police and traffic authorities should be instructed to take patients within defined radius to Apollo hospital in case of road accidents and emergency. The referral system should be transparent and all the state machinery involved in health sector should be authorized to refer any patient, which they deem fit for specialized treatment irrespective of the recommendations. REPORT OF JUSTICE QURESHI COMMITTEE 25. The GNCTD (Health & Family Welfare Deptt.,) vide Notification No.F.13/36/99-DHS/NH/pet.File/340 dated 12th June, 2000 constituted a Committee headed by Justice A.S.Qureshi (Retd) and some official and non-official members. The terms of reference of the Committee were set out in the said order as follows: a) To review the existing free treatment facilities extended by the Charitable and other Hospitals who have been allotted land on concessional terms/rates by the Government. b) To suggest suitable policy guidelines for free treatment facilities for needy and deserving pati....

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....s Chief Secretary and three other high officials. They are rendered ineffective and are not able to get even the legally valid and constructive proposals approved by the Board on the question of free treatment to the poor. They are out-voted by other Directors who have made a common cause to defeat any attempt to provide a truly free treatment to genuinely poor patients. The dominant profit motive of the company has made other Directors totally indifferent and callous regarding free treatment to the poor in flagrant violation of the terms and conditions of the aforesaid agreement and the lease deed. The public limited company, has described itself as "purely commercial" enterprise. Therefore, profit motive is inherent in its activities, which is quite understandable. But the profit motive should not be in defiant violation of the firm commitment in respect of free treatment to the poor patients. The incorporation of the IMCL and the establishment of the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital has so far been a bad bargain as an investment for the Delhi Government. The only perceivable achievement is the setting up of State-of the-Art Super Specialty Hospital in Delhi for those who ca....

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....r can seek mandamus both against the government and the hospital. In the present case, interpretation of the clauses of the agreement is involved. No factual dispute is involved. Therefore this Court in exercise of the powers under Article 226 can interpret the agreement and issue mandamus against both the government and the hospital to render free treatment to the poor and needy as per the agreement. 28. Mrs. Avnish Ahlawat, learned standing counsel appearing for the GNCTD submitted that in the agreement it was clearly provided that that the company shall provide to the Administrator the free facilities of medical diagnostic and other necessary care to not less than 1/3 of the total capacity of 600 beds in the multi-speciality hospital. These terms were in conformity with the notice inviting tender where it was specifically mentioned that hospital has to run on no profit no loss basis and 1/3 of the hospital services will be provided free of cost which includes full medical diagnostic and other necessary facilities apart from 40% free treatment to OPD patients. "Free bed" would include consultation, bed, investigation, nursing, medicines and consumables. Learned counsel submitt....

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.... to be included in the facilities to be provided free of charge. If any free services are to be provided by the hospital the cost of these would have to be generated from the revenue earned by the hospital, that is to say that the paying patients will have to pay for the free medicines and consumables. This would result in costlier treatment to the paying patients and the hospital would become out of reach and overpriced. IMCL has obligations towards the investors, banks and financial institutions who have granted loans and has to be commercially viable. Mr. Bhasin finally urged that to provide free medical care is the obligation of the State and as such court cannot direct private parties to discharge public function in PILs against them. This is only an effort to circumvent State's obligation with a view to fastening the liability on a private party. RIGHT TO HEALTH 30. By questioning the maintainability of the Writ Petition at hand, inter alia, on the grounds that IMCL is not "State" or "State instrumentality" or that it is essentially a commercial venture, the hospital has tried to trivialize the issues. The subject matter of the controversy is not as mundane as made out ....

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....dard of physical and mental health. 2. The steps to be taken by the State parties to the present covenant to achieve the full realization of this right shall include those necessary for : (a) The provision for the reduction of the stillbirth rate and of infant mortality and for the healthy development of the child; (b) The improvement of all aspects of environmental and industrial hygiene; (c) The prevention, treatment and control of epidemic, endemic, occupational and other diseases; (d) The creation of conditions which would assure to all medical service and medical attention in the even to sickness." 33. There are provisions relating to protection and advancement of health in several conventions formulated under the aegis of the United Nations. The right to health is recognized, inter alia, in article 5(e)(iv) of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination of 1965, in articles 11.1(f) and 12 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women of 1979 and in article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child of 1989. Several regional human rights instruments also ....

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.... The Committee further states in paragraph 12 that the right to health in all its forms and at all levels contains the following interrelated and essential elements, the precise application of which will depend on the conditions prevailing in a particular State party : "(a) Availability. Functioning public health and healthcare facilities, goods and services, as well as programmes, have to be available in sufficient quantity within the State party. The precise nature of the facilities, goods and services will vary depending on numerous factors, including the State party's developmental level. They will include, however, the underlying determinants of health, such as safe and potable drinking water and adequate sanitation facilities, hospitals, clinics and other health-related buildings, trained medical and professional personnel receiving domestically competitive salaries, and essential drugs, as defined by the WHO Action Programme on Essential Drugs. (b) Accessibility. Health facilities, goods and services have to be accessible to everyone without discrimination, within the jurisdiction of the State party. Accessibility has four overlapping dimensions: ....

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....nitation. " Mandate of Indian Constitution & Supreme Court : 35. The right to health or the right to health care is recognized in at least 115 constitutions. At least six other constitutions set out duties in relation to health, such as the duty on the State to develop health services or to allocate a specific budget to them. Part IV of our Constitution deals with the Directive Principles of State Policy. Among several provisions that touch on the subject of health, reference can be made to Articles 39(e), (f), 42 and 47 of the Constitution. These Articles read as follows: "39(e) that the health and strength of works, men and women, and the tender age of children are not abused and that citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age or strength; (f) that children are given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and that childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment. 42. Provision for just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief :- The State shall make provision for securing just and hum....

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.... workers during service and thereafter, is a fundamental right of workers. According to the Court, it can issue directions in an appropriate case to the State or its instrumentalities or even private employers to make the right to life meaningful and to pay compensation to affected workmen. It also held that the defence of 'sovereign immunity' would not be available to the State or its instrumentalities where fundamental rights are sought to be enforced. Relying on several previous judgments, the Court held that right to life would mean meaningful and real right to life. It would include right to livelihood, better standard of living in hygienic conditions at the work place and leisure. 39. In Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samity v. State of West Bengal, (1996) 4 SCC 37 the case related to failure on the part of the government hospitals to provide timely emergency medical treatment to persons in serious conditions. The Court observed: "It is no doubt true that financial resources are needed for providing these facilities. But at the same time it cannot be ignored that it is the Constitutional obligation of the State to provide adequate medical services to the peopl....

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....very one in this country, assured under the interpretation given to Article 21 by this Court in Francis Mullen's case, to live with human dignity, free from exploitation. This right to live with human dignity enshrined in Article 21 derives its life breath from the Directive Principles of State Policy and particularly Clauses (e) and (f) of Article 39 and Articles 41 and 42 and at the least, therefore, it must include protection of the health and strength of workers men and women, and of the tender age of children against abuse, opportunities and facilities for children to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity, educational facilities, just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief. These are the minimum requirements which must exist in order to enable a person to live with human dignity and no State neither the Central Government nor any State Government has the right to take any action which will deprive a person of the enjoyment of these basic essentials. Since the Directive Principles of State Policy contained in Clauses (e) and (f) of Article 39, Article 41 and 42 are not enforceable in a court of law, it may not be possible to compel....

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....liberty" in 5th and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and proclaimed; "By the term "life" as here used something more is meant than mere animal existence. The inhibition against its deprivation extends to all these limits and faculties by which life is enjoyed. The provision equally prohibits the mutilation of the body or amputation of an arm or leg or the putting out of an eye or the destruction of any other organ of the body through which the soul communicates with the outer world... by the term liberty, as used in the provision something more is meant than mere freedom from physical restraint or the bonds of a prison. The Court however came to the conclusion that the contributory scheme which was framed by the State in that case cannot be held to be illegal, unlawful or unconstitutional. ROLE OF NON-STATE ACTORS 43. Health care is an essential concomitant to quality of life. Its demand and supply cannot therefore be left to be regulated solely by the invisible hands of the market. The State must strive to move towards a system where every citizen has assured access to basic health care, irrespective of capacity to pay. In an article by Shri R.Srinivasan ....

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....ss sector - have responsibilities regarding the realisation of the right to health. State parties should therefore provide an environment which facilitates the discharge of these responsibilities." A.Yamin in his article "Protecting and Promoting the Right to Health in Latin America" published in Health and Human Rights 2000 5(1); 134 observed: "...decision-makers in governments, international financial institutions and even multinational corporations must come to view health and health care as non-negotiable entitlements, not as matters of governmental largesse or productivity." Judith Asher, an activist, in her book "The Right to Health : A Resource Manual for NGOs" says that within a human rights framework, the private sector and non-governmental bodies are expected to carry out their activities with full regard for the fundamental health rights of individuals and groups. Although not in a direct sense legally bound by the relevant obligations, they are expected to comply with the accepted health and human rights standards and norms by giving due attention to protecting, promoting, and realizing the right to health, both in the work that they carry out....

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....ld remain flexible to meet the requirements of variable circumstances. Mandamus is a very wide remedy which must be easily available „to reach injustice wherever it is found‟. Technicalities should not come in the way of granting that relief under Article 226. We also quote paragraphs 20 and 21 of the judgment: "20. In Praga Tools Corporation v. Shri C.A Imanual and Ors., (1969) 3 SCR 773 : (AIR 1969 Supreme Court 1306) , this Court said that a mandamus can issue against a person or body to carry out the duties placed on them by the Statutes even though they are not public officials or statutory body. It was observed (at 778) ; "It is however not necessary that the person or the authority on whom the statutory duty is imposed need be a public official or an official body, A mandamus can issue, for instance, to an official or a society to compel him to carry out the terms of the statute under or by which the society is constituted or governed and also to companies or corporations to carry out duties placed on them by the statutes authorising their undertakings. A mandamus would also lie against a company constituted by a statute for the purpose of fulfi....

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....etween the public functions and private functions when it is being discharged by a purely private authority. A body is performing a "public function" when it seeks to achieve some collective benefit for the public or a section of the public and is accepted by the public or that section of the public as having authority to do so. Bodies therefore exercise public functions when they intervene or participate in social or economic affairs in the public interest. In a book on Judicial Review of Administrative Action (Fifth Edn.) by de Smith, Woolf & Jowell in Chapter 3 para 0.24, it is stated thus: "A body is performing a "public function" when it seeks to achieve some collective benefit for the public or a section of the public and is accepted by the public or that section of the public as having authority to do so. Bodies therefore exercise public functions when they intervene or participate in social or economic affairs in the public interest. This may happen in a wide variety of ways. For instance, a body is performing a public function when it provides "public goods" or other collective services, such as health care, education and personal social services, from funds raise....

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.... can lie against a "person" if it is a statutory body or performs a public function or discharges a public or statutory duty." 50. It is now well settled that there is no absolute bar for entertaining a writ petition even if the same arises out of a contractual obligation or involves some disputed question of facts. Rejecting the argument that the High Court should not have entertained writ petition in relation to a contractual term, which conferred discretion upon the LIC in regard to issuing insurance policies, the Supreme Court observed in LIC of India v. Consumer Education & Research Centre, (1995) 5 SCC 482, thus: "Every action of the public authority or the person acting in public interest or its acts give rise to public element, should be guided by public interest. It is the exercise of the public power or action ' hedged with public element becomes open to challenge. If it is shown that the exercise of the power is arbitrary unjust and unfair, it should be no answer for the State its instrumentality, public authority or person whose acts have the insignia of public element to say that their actions are in the field of private law and they are free to prescri....

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....al field involving the State since it is no longer a mere private activity to be excluded from public view or scrutiny. 27. Unlike a private party whose acts uninformed by reason and influenced by personal predilections in contractual matters may result in adverse consequences to it alone without affecting the public interest, any such act of the State or a public body even in this field would adversely affect the public interest. Every holder of a public office by virtue of which he acts on behalf of the State or public body is ultimately accountable to the people in whom the sovereignty vests. As such, all powers so vested in him are meant to be exercised for public good and promoting the public interest. This is equally true of all actions even in the field of contract. Thus, every holder of a public office is a trustee whose highest duty is to the people of the country and, therefore, every act of the holder of a public office, irrespective of the label classifying that act, is in discharge of public duty meant ultimately for public good. With the diversification of State activity in a Welfare State requiring the State to discharge its wide-ranging functions even throu....

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.... discussed as there does not exist any basic principles therefor. These cases do not involve serious disputed question of fact. Basic facts are admitted. The High Court was concerned with the interpretation of statute and interpretation of the contract. Judicial Review of the impugned action on the part of the appellant was, therefore, permissible". 53. In ABL International Ltd., v. Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India, (2004) 3 SCC 553 the Court held that a writ petition involving serious disputed questions of facts which requires consideration of evidence which is not on record, will not normally be entertained by a court in the exercise of its jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution, but there is no absolute rule that in all cases involving disputed questions of fact the parties should be relegated to a civil suit. It has even been held that in the writ petition, if the facts require, oral evidence can be taken. This clearly shows that in an appropriate case, the writ court has the jurisdiction to entertain a writ petition involving disputed questions of fact and there is no absolute bar for entertaining a writ petition even if the same arises out of a cont....

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....CL cannot be said to be State or its instrumentality, it is certainly entrusted with the public duties to provide free treatment to 1/3rd of indoor patients and 40% of OPD. It is expected to fulfill this public responsibility for the citizens of Delhi. We, therefore, reject the contention urged for the respondent No.2 on the maintainability of the writ petition. INTERPRETATION OF CLAUSES IN AGREEMENT 56. Coming then to the question of interpretation of the clauses in the agreement we may reproduce the exact words of the Joint Venture Agreement as well as the lease deed: Joint Venture Agreement: "....The proposed company shall provide to the administrator the free facilities of medical, diagnostic and other necessary care through not less than one-third of the total capacity of 600 beds in the multispecialty hospital as contemplated in this agreement or any part thereof which may be commissioned for the time. The hospital will also provide free of cost full medical, diagnostic and other necessary facilities to 40% of patient attending the out-patient department of the hospital. Lease Deed "6(i)...The Lessee shall provide free diet, medical d....

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....to the interpretation of the notification No.64/88-Cus dated 1st March, 1988 issued by the Central Government in exercise of its powers under Section 25 of the Customs Act, 1962 and the eligibility of the petitioners for grant of exemption from payment of customs duty on the import of medical equipments from outside the country. The relevant portion of the notification reads as follows: "2. All such hospitals which may be certified by the said Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in each case, to be run for providing medical, surgical or diagnostic treatment not only without any distinction of caste, creed, race, religion or language but also,- (a) Free, on an average, to at least 40 per cent of all their outdoor patients; and (b) Free, to all indoor patients belonging to families with an income of less than rupees five hundred per month, and keeping for this purpose at least 10 per cent of all the hospital beds reserved for such patients; and (c) At reasonable charges, either on the basis of the income of the patients concerned or otherwise, to patients other than those specified in clauses (a) and (b)." One of the reasons, which the respon....

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....rest of the poor sections of the Society when a provision for exemption of duty on import of equipment was made. The intention of the authority issuing the notification could never be that those, who fall in the category should be satisfied with free advice of a Doctor in the hospitals getting exemption and should even as indoor patients fetch their own medicines or pay for the consumables. To attribute that intention to the Government would amount to frustrating the very purposes behind the grant of exemption. If a patient who, falls in the eligible category is also required to pay for the medicines and other consumable items used by the hospital in his/their treatment, it would render any such treatment in the hospital a luxury which he can ill afford. The notification has, therefore, to be interpreted rationally in order to ensure that the object underlying the same is advanced. The predominant object behind the grant of an exemption, which ran into hundreds of crores if not thousands was to ensure that the poorest in the society have an advantage of being treated free in such hospitals. The colossal amount of duty involved in the exemption could not conceivably be waived or giv....

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....tion. The conditions imposed should be consistent with public interest and should always stipulate that in case of violation of any of those conditions, the land shall be resumed by the government. Not only such conditions should be stipulated but constant monitoring should be done to ensure that those conditions are being observed in practice. While we cannot say anything about the particular school run by the respondent, it is common knowledge that some of the schools are being run on totally commercial lines. Huge amounts are being charged by way of donations and fees. The question is whether there is any justification for allotting land at throw-away prices to such institutions. The allotment of land belonging to the people at practically no price is meant for serving the public interest, i.e., spread of education or other charitable purposes; it is not meant to enable the allottees to make money or profiteer with the aid of public property." DIRECTIONS 61. Despite lapse of more than 15 years there has been hardly any implementation of the conditions of the agreement providing for free treatment to indoor and outdoor patients. The Committee has submitted two reports which....