BUTA RAM Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is a pensioner having superannuated on December 31, 2000. His wife had taken emergency Cancer treatment from Mohan Dai Oswal Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation, Ludhiana, where she expired on May 12, 2005, while under treatment. The petitioner has sought a direction to the respondents for reimbursement of the medical expenses incurred by him during emergency cancer treatment failed from the aforementioned hospital. The amount claimed is Rs. 1,13,592/-.

(2.) The claim of the petitioner has been contested by the respondents by filing a written statement on behalf of respondents No. 1 to 4, alleging that the petitioner is not entitled for the reimbursement of the medical bill on the ground that neither the aforementioned hospital, is recognized by Government of Haryana, nor his wife ever remained as Indoor patient. A controversy has been raised regarding the date of admission of petitioner's wife in the hospital. The short question which requires to be determined in this case is whether the claim of the medical reimbursement of the Government employee or his dependent could be rejected merely on the ground that treatment had been taken from a hospital, which is not on the approval list of Haryana Government. The said question came up for consideration in Shakuntla v. State of Haryana,2004 1 RSJ 283, Chander Bhan v. State of Haryana and others, 2004 4 RSJ 66 and Satpal Gupta v. State of Haryana and others, Civil Writ Petition No. 132 of 2004 decided on July 6, 2006. This Court has repeatedly held that in case of saving a human life at a given point of time, it is not expected to an attendant to look into the list of approved hospitals. Availing treatment from hospital which is not recognized by Government, in emergency, will not debar the Government employee or his dependent to claim reimbursement as per the Rules. In the present case, the wife of the petitioner was suffering from Cancer and she had ultimately died on May 12, 2005, on account of her ailment. Mohan Dai Oswal Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation, Ludhiana, is recognized, for the purposes of reimbursement by the State of Punjab.

(3.) We are also unable to agree with the counsel for the respondents that it was not a case of emergency for the wife of the petitioner to go to Cancer Hospital at Ludhiana. The petitioner is a resident of Ambala and it cannot be presumed that he had taken his wife to Cancer Hospital the nearest place i.e. at Ludhiana for any other purpose except for emergency. We have considered the said argument in contest to the meaning of the word 'emergency' as in Oxford Dictionary, which means that a sudden state of danger, conflict etc., requiring immediate action; or a medical condition requiring immediate treatment. It cannot be presumed that a patient of Cancer when, rushed to hospital for treatment or admission, it could be on account of choice or sweet will or that it was not a sudden state of danger requiring immediate action.