The Supreme Court has rebuked Uttarakhand’s director general (DG) of health for suggesting modifications to a previous court order concerning guidelines for intensive care units (ICUs) and critical care units (CCUs). The order, issued on July 23, instructed states to submit suggestions to standardise ICU protocols nationwide.
During the proceedings which took place Monday, the bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah examined an affidavit from DG Tara Arya, which included proposed changes to the order. The court also demanded details of the meeting where these modifications were discussed.
Following the SC directive of July, the Uttarakhand health department had held a meeting on Aug 7 to review ICU admission guidelines and the qualifications required for ICU specialists. The expert committee convened at this meeting suggested edits to the July 23 order, proposing certain changes they believed were necessary for effective patient care. This led to portions of the order being altered to reflect these recommendations.
The bench, comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah, pulled up Arya for this, saying, “You are modifying and amending our order. How can you do this? You do not deserve to be on this post.” In response, Arya explained that the modifications were meant for internal reference and were unintentionally included in the affidavit. However, the court remained unsatisfied, questioning, “That makes it worse. How dare you even take a stance even in your internal note to amend our order? Is this what you do to a Supreme Court order?”
Arya clarified that the state’s intention was merely to provide its perspective based on an expert’s opinion, which suggested that parts of the guidelines might be impractical. After this explanation, the court scheduled a follow-up hearing in six weeks, saying, “We must record our strong displeasure at the contents of the meeting and what was contained in the minutes as prima facie we feel it amounts to contempt of court.”
The bench permitted Arya to file an affidavit detailing the events that led to the filing of the contentious affidavit, exempting her from attending the next hearing. Additionally, the court directed additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati to assist Arya in drafting a thorough affidavit within two weeks, summarising the meeting details and the context that led to the content in question.
This issue stems from a broader mandate issued by the SC in 2016. The court, responding to a case of alleged medical negligence, had instructed the Centre and the Medical Council of India (now the National Medical Commission) to clarify guidelines on ICU standards in private hospitals.
The directive followed a plea by Asit Baran Mandal from West Bengal, who accused a doctor of negligence that allegedly led to his daughter-in-law’s post-surgical death. In 2016, the Supreme Court had highlighted the unchecked issue of medical negligence in private hospitals and called for regulatory oversight to address patient care in ICUs.
