SC impleads ILBS in free treatment compliance case

In a significant development concerning institutional accountability and accessible healthcare, the Supreme Court has formally impleaded the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS), Vasant Kunj, as a party respondent in ongoing proceedings.

The petition accuses ILBS of systemic non-compliance with the apex court’s landmark judgment, which mandates that hospitals allotted land at concessional rates must fulfill obligatory quotas of providing free medical treatment and healthcare access to economically weaker sections of society.

A bench comprising Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shree Chandrashekhar recently issued formal notice returnable on November 4, 2026, directing that “Notice of this application be issued only to the newly impleaded respondent(s)/ILBS, returnable on 4 November 2026”.

The outcome of this legal battle could establish a vital precedent for enforcing mandatory charitable quotas in elite, publicly funded medical institutions across the Capital. The legal proceedings stem from a miscellaneous application filed by Rahul Raj, a citizen who lost his mother during her treatment at the hospital.

The petition brought to light a glaring contradiction between the institute’s establishment on Government land using public funds and its current operations. Built using approximately Rs 800 crores from the public exchequer, ILBS was ostensibly established to serve charitable and patient-care objectives.

However, the plea alleges that the institute functions on a commercial “Revenue Sharing Scheme,” subverting its foundational public service mandate into a profit-generating enterprise. The applicant has flagged severe institutional malpractices encountered during his mother’s care. These include the alleged denial of CGHS cashless facilities despite holding a valid card, mandatory registration under a single senior doctor without personal examination, unauthorized transfer of biological samples to private entities for research without consent, and commercially driven ICU escalations followed by exorbitant billing.

Furthermore, the petition draws heavily from Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) constitutional audits from 2018 and 2023, which flagged serious financial irregularities, including the diversion of Rs 60 crores into an unapproved corpus fund, unadjusted advances exceeding Rs 36 crores, non-serviceable equipment worth Rs 9.68 crores, and a governance collapse marked by a three-year hiatus in Finance Committee meetings.

The Supreme Court judgment explicitly mandates that hospitals receiving land at concessional rates must provide free medical treatment to economically weaker sections. While the apex court has been actively monitoring compliance across hospitals through pending proceedings, ILBS had hitherto remained outside this accountability framework.

Taking cognizance of the grievance, the bench passed an order noting that notice had never been sent to the hospital previously.

The Apex Court recorded that “In view of the above submission made, let ILBS be impleaded as party respondent(s) to the present miscellaneous application.”

Addressing the broader scope of institutions falling under the mandate, the bench directed:

“It is brought to our notice that there are other hospitals over and above the 51 hospitals who would be falling in the category of hospitals who have received Government grant/ commission as they would also be governed by the order of which compliance is sought for in these proceedings.

The learned amicus and the Health Secretary for the Government of NCT of Delhi shall file details of such remaining hospitals.”