MHC allows JIPMER's holiday announcement for Ayodhya Ram temple's consecration

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Sunday disposed of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the declaration of a half-day holiday to the JIPMER hospital in the view of consecration of Ayodhya Ram temple, as the hospital administration submitted that the emergency services will run as usual.

The litigant R Raja moved the Madras High Court seeking to direct the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate

Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) and the Puducherry government not to close the hospital.

The case was listed before the first division bench comprising Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy.

Senior counsel V Prakash appeared for the litigant to submit that there are planned surgeries scheduled on January 22, once the slot is missed, the patients have to wait for three months to get another appointment.

There are patients who have to undergo tests such as MRI Scans, etc. before the operative procedure is undertaken. The patients throughout the country come to JIPMER, as it is a super specialty institute and one of the most reputed institutes in Puducherry. Hence, he sought not to close the hospital on January 22, till 2:30 pm as announced.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) ARL Sundaresan appeared for JIPMER submitted that there are no elective or planned surgeries fixed on January 22 till 2:30 pm.

The emergency surgeries would be undertaken; emergency services will run as usual. The patients requiring emergent treatment shall be attended to by the doctors and planned evaluations shall also be taken care of, said the ASG.

After the submission the bench disposed of the PIL.

The JIPMER administration declared half day holiday on January 22, till 2:30 pm as the consecration of Ayodhya Ram temple. Aggrieved by this announcement the litigant preferred the PIL.