The Delhi Commission for Women on Tuesday issued a notice to Safdarjung Hospital here after a woman delivered her baby outside its emergency wing as she was allegedly denied admission by the Centre-run facility, and sought a report in the matter.

This comes after a video of the woman delivering her baby went viral on social media. The Union health ministry has also sought a report from the hospital in the matter.

In the video, some women are seen standing around the pregnant woman with a saree, covering her during the delivery. Some nurses are also seen at the spot.

The woman's relatives are heard alleging that the hospital did not admit her on Monday and she spent the night outside its emergency department.

The hospital has also initiated an inquiry into the incident, according to sources.

The Delhi Commission for Women said taking suo-motu cognisance of the video, it has issued a notice to Safdarjung Hospital seeking an action taken report in the matter by July 25.

"Such incidents, where even reputed government hospitals deny admission and care to critical patients, break the trust of common people in the public healthcare system. I have issued a notice to Safdarjung Hospital and have asked the hospital authorities to fix accountability in the matter.

"The incident is shameful and urgent steps must be taken to ensure action against the negligent officers and to rectify the situation so that it is never repeated again," DCW chief Swati Maliwal said.

In its notice, the commission asked the hospital to furnish details of its inquiry report, sequence of events and reasons for the alleged denial of admission to the woman despite her serious medical condition.

It also sought details of hospital staff responsible for this "negligence", action taken against them and the protocol followed in emergency cases.

The DCW also asked the hospital whether any of its staff members assisted the woman during her delivery.

Safdarjung Hospital, one of the largest tertiary government hospitals in the country, denied the allegation that it refused to admit the woman.

In a statement, the hospital said it has a no-refusal policy and the woman was given admission papers but she did not return them.

"The patient is currently admitted in LR-II and the baby, weighing 1.4 kg, is admitted in nursery 9 in view of low birth weight. Both are in stable condition. There are six doctors, including two Senior Residents (SR), posted in the Gynae Receiving Room round the clock," the hospital said.