The Supreme Court has stayed the High Court's order that required the Delhi government to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Centre for the implementation of the PM-ABHIM scheme.
The Supreme Court has stayed the High Court's order that required the Delhi government to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Centre for the implementation of the PM-ABHIM scheme. This decision temporarily halts the High Court's directive until further proceedings.
The Supreme Court today stayed the Delhi High Court's order, which directed the Delhi government to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Centre by January 5 for the implementation of the PM-Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) scheme in the national capital.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai and AG Masih passed the order, seeking the Centre's response to the Delhi government's plea challenging the High Court's directive.
Senior Advocate Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the Delhi government, argued that the Centre's powers are limited to matters under Entries 1, 2, and 18 in the State List (such as public order, police, and land). He contended that the High Court's order redefined the powers of the governments concerning the health sector. Singhvi further questioned the High Court's decision to force the Delhi government to sign the MoU, a policy matter. He highlighted that under the proposed MoU, the Government of India would bear 60% of the capital expenditure, with the Delhi government covering 40%, but the Centre would bear 0% of the running expenditure. Singhvi also argued that the reach and coverage of Delhi's own health scheme is much larger.
After hearing the submissions, the Supreme Court bench issued notice on the plea and stayed the impugned Delhi High Court order.
The Delhi High Court had passed the impugned order while dealing with a suo motu Public Interest Litigation (PIL) initiated in 2017 regarding the availability of ICU beds and ventilator facilities in government hospitals. The High Court noted that the non-implementation of the PM-Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) scheme in Delhi, when 33 States/UTs had already implemented it, was unjustified.
The Court emphasized that the scheme needed to be fully implemented to ensure that Delhi residents would not be deprived of the funds and facilities under it. The High Court also stated that the MoU should be signed regardless of any model code of conduct, as it would benefit Delhi's residents.
Prior to this, the High Court had raised concerns about the lack of medical infrastructure for critical care patients and questioned why the Delhi government's infrastructure was not keeping up with the demand. The Court had urged the Delhi government to implement the PM-ABHIM scheme on a pilot basis and then scale it up to all hospitals.
Case Title: GOVERNMENT OF NCT OF DELHI Versus UNION OF INDIA AND ORS., Diary No. 921-2025.
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