MADHAVDAS BHAGWANDAS KHUSHIRAMANI Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) What the Welfare State and its officers contend is that the petitioner has to undergo by-pass surgery of severe triple vessel coronary artery at Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad and not at the Hospital of his confidence and belief. It is unfortunate that the respondents have insisted to undergo for this serious operation at the Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad. But they are not appreciating that despite of the fact that the State Government invests huge amount of public money for this Civil Hospital it could not gain that much reputation, faith, belief and confidence of the ailing citizens of the city to prefer this Hospital for this type of serious operation i.e. to undergo by-pass surgery of triple vessel coronary artery. It is not a matter of going to a restaurant to have lunch or dinner or a breakfast or to go to law garden to have a chat or dabeli or hot dog etc.. It is a very serious thing and as it pertains to the life of a human being, the person concerned will not like to take any risk and at all the cost he will like to have this operation to be undertaken by a senior, experienced and reputed Doctor and at the hospital of high reputation and confidence. Though the material is not produced on the record of this special civil application and it is not possible to give any final finding, it comes from the different corners that the higher ups of the society, offices and officers of the Government do not prefer to go for all these major operations at the Civil Hospital. Even for angiography, the higher class of officers and the high dignitaries of the State Government, as what it comes from the different corners, do not prefer to go to Civil Hospital. They prefer either to go to Escort, Delhi or Apollo, Madras or Bombay Hospital, Bombay or even at Ahmedabad to the Gujarat Research and Medical Institute (Rajasthan Hospital). If for angiography this class of persons do not prefer civil hospital how it is desirable and reasonable of the officers of the Gandhinagar to expect that the petitioner had to go for this serious operation at the Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad.

(2.) The State Government permits its employees/ officers to go for this operation at the institution other than the Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad though on prior sanction of the concerned department. Though material is not there on the record of this special civil application, but it comes from different corners that for higher-ups in the services and the offices where they have undergone operations outside the State of Gujarat, the post-facto sanctions are being given or immediately the sanctions are being made or even advance finances are arranged or bills of hospitals are paid directly. I am constrained to observe that for the employees lower in ladder all rules and regulations are to be strictly complied with and made a rule. In the matter of engaging the services of a professional, whether it is a case of engaging an advocate in the High Court or the District courts or subordinate courts or Doctors for medical treatment or for undergoing operations, the person shall prefer to engage the best professional more so, when it is a case of life of a person concerned, as stated earlier, he will not like to take any risk or chance. It is true that the people are going to civil hospital for these operations but the people of the category who have no means and money are going there. They are the poor persons who have no means to arrange the money to pay fees of the professionals at other institutions. The State Government provides free medical facilities to its employees and officers and in case where they go outside the State for operation on prior approval of the concerned department of the State Government their bills of operations are reimbursed. In a case where employee is serious and desires to go to the hospital outside the State for operation and which he had also made it clear by making an application, if we go by the defence of the respondents, then he has to wait till the sanction has been granted before he proceeds to Chennai (Madras) and the possible result would have been in majority of the cases death of that person. In such matters, it is not unknown that the officers of the State Government do not expeditiously deal with such applications.

(3.) The petitioner having cardiac problem got his angiography done at the Gujarat Research and Medical Institution ( Rajasthan Hospital) on 12-7-1996. He consulted cardiologist of the Gujarat Research and Medical Institution (Rajasthan Hospital) Dr. Rakesh Gupta on 22-7-1996 who advised him to undergo earliest by-pass surgery. The petitioner has also consulted cardiologist of Institute of Cardiologist and Research Centre, Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad. On 24/07/1996, he was examined by the cardiologist of the institution aforesaid who also advised him to undergo immediately for coronary by-pass surgery as the petitioner was found to he suffering from triple vessel coronary artery disease.