BIBHA SINGH Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner of CWJC No. 7500 of 1999 has preferred this appeal in terms of Clause 10 of the Letters Patent of the High Court of Judicature at Patna, and is aggrieved by the order dated 14.9.99, whereby the petitioner's claim for reimbursement for his liver transplantation abroad has been rejected. We shall go by the description of the parties occurring in the writ petition. The same was filed by Dinesh Kumar Singh (hereinafter referred to as 'the original petitioner') who died during the pendency of the present appeal, on 26.1.2005, and has been substituted by his widow, who is the present appellant.

(2.) A brief statement of facts essential for the disposal of the appeal may be indicated. The original petitioner was a member of the Bihar Legislative Council from 1962 to 1980. He was thereafter a member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly from 1982 to 1990, and was Minister of State and Cabinet Minister during this period. While still in office, he suffered from jaundice and was undergoing treatment in Patna, under the care of the Head of the Department of Medicine, Patna Medical College and Hospital. His condition deteriorated, and was referred to All India Institute of Medical Science, New Delhi (AIIMS for short) for further treatment. AIIMS diagnosed it to be a case of cirrhosis of liver, and was advised to undergo liver transplantation at the earliest which facility was then not available in India. This position is borne out by the certificate dated 7.10.93 (Annexure 1), issued by AIIMS. Accordingly, the petitioner had immediately thereafter flown to the United Kingdom. It appears from the Facsimile Transmission dt. 20.10.1993 (Annexure 2), from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham that the expected cost of liver transplantation was 40,000/ - pounds. It further appears from the certificate dated 17.12.93, marked Annexure -3, issued by the said hospital, that he had undergone liver transplantation on the said date. The petitioner returned to India after successful surgery and submitted his medical bills to respondent No. 6 (Secretary, Legislative Assembly, Bihar, Patna). The same was forwarded to the Health Department, Government of Bihar, for the needful as per the rules, along with letter dated 13.2.95 (Annexure 4). This was followed by various reminders from respondent No. 6 to the State Government but final order was not passed leading to the present CWJC No. 7500 of 1999, which was disposed of on 14.9.99.

(3.) LEARNED Counsel submits that Rule 2(3) of the 1990 Rules provides that supply of the required medicines which are not available in the hospital where treatment is going on, can on certification of the hospital incharge, be purchased from outside and shall be reimbursed. He submits that the same in spirit supports the petitioner's case in a situation where the admitted position is that the facility of liver transplantation at the relevant point of time was not available in India. He relies on the following reported judgments: