HC slams SRN Hospital for ‘pathetic condition', says better to call it ‘mortuary'

Hindustan Times

24-05-2025

Coming down heavily on the Swaroop Rani Nehru (SRN) Hospital in Prayagraj for its 'pathetic condition', the Allahabad high court said that it would be better to call it a 'mortuary' instead of a hospital.
'Prayagraj is under the grip of medical mafia. Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital attached to Motilal Nehru Medical College is in a pathetic condition. The poor and helpless patients are being dragged by touts planted by the medical mafia to private medical setups, and are not being treated in the hospitals attached to the medical college,' the court said.
'The government medical setup is under a great threat by the private medical mafia of the city,' the court added.
The high court took serious note of the report submitted by the two amici curiae, who inspected SRN Hospital and submitted their report highlighting inadequate facilities and non-availability of doctors in the outpatient department (OPD).
Hearing a PIL, justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal on May 23 issued a slew of directions to improve the condition of SRN Hospital, directing the principal secretary, medical health, to apprise the state government of this order and place the same before the chief secretary and, if needed, before the chief minister for his due consideration.
'Prayagraj just witnessed Mahakumbh in the months of January-February, 2025. Swaroop Rani Hospital is just one km away from the mela area. According to a state estimate, around 66.30 crore pilgrims took holy dip at Sangam. The medical infrastructure of the city is in a shambles. It was by the grace of God that no untoward incident happened, otherwise there was no medical facility available for treatment of the patients,' the court said.
'Prima facie, this court finds that the nexus between private medical mafia, medical officers and staff of the Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital has practically crippled the infrastructure and working condition,' the court noted.
'The state and district administration are totally failing in providing basic medical facilities to the residents of Prayagraj who have just witnessed the successful Mahakumbh-2025 in the city. The earlier affidavit filed by the principal secretary, medical health, demonstrates that cities like Lucknow, Kanpur and Gorakhpur have hospitals with a capacity of more than 2,000 beds, but Prayagraj has a capacity of only 1,750 beds despite the fact that the biggest religious fair on earth was held here in January-February, 2025,' the court added.
The court also slammed public representatives hailing from Prayagraj, saying, 'The representatives of people in the parliament and state legislature from Prayagraj are also not taking any keen interest in the welfare and well-being of citizens. There are ministers in the Uttar Pradesh cabinet from Prayagraj, but they have not paid any attention to the deteriorating condition of the hospital attached to the medical college.'
While issuing a slew of directions to improve the condition of SRN hospital, the high court also directed the district magistrate, who was present in the court, to constitute a team of officials to monitor and keep a tab on professors, assistant professors, associate professors, readers, and lecturers of the medical college indulging in private practice.
Directing that the PIL be put up for the next hearing on May 29, the court also asked the DM to ensure that doctors attend the OPD regularly from 8am to 2pm.