A division bench of Calcutta High Court headed by Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam on Thursday asked the SSKM Hospital authorities to file an affidavit detailing the medical condition of the “influential” patients admitted there.
The division bench, which included Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya, issued the order to the hospital authorities after hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed last month accusing the state’s premier health facility of becoming a safe shelter for leaders and their acolytes facing corruption and other charges.
Advocate Sushmita Saha Datta had filed the PIL alleging that SSKM had turned into a refuge for some political leaders who were accused in criminal cases and arrested by central investigating agencies.
The PIL alleged that as a result, other patients were being deprived of their right to get treatment at the multi-speciality hospital.
“Whenever a political leader or an influential person is arrested, they pretend illness and the lower courts send them to hospital,” the lawyer said moving the petition.
Sujay Krishna Bhadra, who has been arrested for his alleged involvement in irregularities in recruitments for government-aided schools, has spent over four months at SSKM.
Former food and civil supplies minister Jyotipriya Mallik is also admitted at the hospital. Mallik is in custody for his alleged involvement in irregularities in ration supplies.
Earlier, in 2022, Partha Chatterjee, former education minister now in jail, was shifted to SSKM soon after he was arrested for his alleged involvement in the recruitment irregularities.
The division bench headed by the Chief Justice accepted the petition for hearing and asked the state to file an affidavit. The case will again come up for hearing after two weeks.
The division bench said the hospital authorities must identify the number of influential and high-profile patients admitted there, their current medical condition, the kind of treatment they were undergoing and the approximate time required to complete their treatment.
In another matter, the same bench asked the SSKM authorities to inform the court about Bhadra’s ailments.
The order follows a case moved by a BJP lawyer claiming that the SSKM authorities were not providing an exact report on the health condition of Bhadra.