Jammu, Dec 9, KNT: The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on Tuesday took suo motu cognisance of the complete halt in cardiac services at the Government Super Speciality Hospital (GSSH), Jammu, after being apprised of unpaid dues amounting to nearly Rs 30 crore under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY).
The development arose during the hearing of a cluster of long-pending Public Interest Litigations, filed by Citizens Forum seeking directions for adequate medical facilities and infrastructure in capital cities and urban areas, along with regulation of private nursing homes and health centres in line with national guidelines.
The court, as per the news agency Kashmir News Trust, observed that these PILs have remained pending for over a decade, during which authorities submitted at least fifteen status and compliance reports without yielding any tangible improvement on the ground.
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An amicus curiae appointed by the court informed the bench that despite repeated directions, systemic issues in public healthcare infrastructure persisted. He also brought to the court’s notice a newspaper report published on Tuesday highlighting the collapse of cardiac services at GSSH.
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According to the report examined by the court, authorised suppliers of emergency cardiac devices such as stents, pacemakers, balloons and cath lab consumables suspended supplies due to non-payment of dues under PMJAY. As a result, cath lab operations at the hospital were fully paralysed. In normal circumstances, the hospital carries out around 25 cardiac procedures daily, but on the day in question, not a single cardiac intervention could be performed, placing vulnerable cardiac patients at serious risk.
Terming the situation as highly sensitive, the bench said the matter warranted immediate judicial intervention in public interest. The court directed the Registrar (Judicial) to register a fresh petition titled “Court on its own motion vs. Nemo” and list it before the same bench during the course of the day.
At the request of the amicus curiae, the proceedings in the original PILs were deferred. The court scheduled further consideration of the matter for December 29, 2025, signalling close monitoring of the healthcare crisis affecting locals dependent on public hospitals. [KNT]
