Amongst the several chemicals used industrially, some insecticides, colour additives and food additives (the chemicals) were approved for use in India even though they were banned in “advanced countries” as they carried carcinogenic properties. These facts were mentioned in a letter sent by Dr. Ashok (the Petitioner) to the Chief Justice of India. The Court …Read more

Carpet industries in Uttar Pradesh employed children, under the age of 14, where they were “being treated as slaves” and were “subjected to physical torture.” This writ petition was filed in the Supreme Court under Article 32 as a public interest matter. The Court immediately commissioned a report to determine whether children under the age …Read more

Mr Daljit Singh, the Petitioner, was a retired lecturer from the Government Senior Secondary School. He underwent coronary bypass surgery at a private hospital. The Petitioner submitted his medical bills in 1991, but had not received any reimbursement six years after submitting the bills. The Petitioner filed a petition in the High Court under Article …Read more

The Petitioner, Kartar Singh Virk, a retired government employee, underwent a by-pass surgery. His request to the Deputy Commissioner for reimbursement of medical expenses incurred was repeatedly rejected. The Petitioner filed the petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India (original jurisdiction of High Courts). The Court …Read more

Mrs. Shantha, the Petitioner, was admitted to the Government Maternity Hospital for a caesarian section. She was affected sterilization after the caesarian section. On leaving the hospital after the operation, she felt abdominal discomfort leading to very severe pain. Following medical examination, it was discovered that surgical equipment had been left inside the Petitioner’s abdomen …Read more

The Petitioner, MX, was a casual labourer working for the Respondent, M/s ZY, a State owned corporation. Before his employment could be regularized, the Respondent required the Petitioner to undergo medical tests, including tests for HIV antibodies. The Petitioner passed all fitness requirements presented in the examination except those for HIV antibodies. The Respondent, upon …Read more

Petition stated that no appropriate steps had been taken by the Municipal Board to take custody of the stray dogs roaming in the public roads, despite the Municipal Board’s responsibility to keep the public spaces clean and abate public nuisances. These stray dogs had created a hindrance in public transport and had proved dangerous to …Read more

A Public Interest Litigation under Article 226 of the Constitution of India was filed by a public-spirited advocate of Mandala, alleging the State Government of apathy and gross negligence in not supplying clean drinking water from hands pumps, which has caused into colossal damage to the village population resulting into bone/skeletal deformities and dental issues. …Read more

The Applicant, Hakim Seikh, fell from a train one evening and suffered severe head injuries. He approached, and was turned away from, six different hospitals during the course of this evening. Hakim eventually spent Rs. 17,000.00 for treatment at the Calcutta Medical Research Institute. The hospitals kept turning him away because they claimed not to …Read more

Mohinder Singh (the Respondent) had a heart ailment, the treatment for which was not available in the State of Punjab. After obtaining the requisite permission, he received the appropriate treatment from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, a state run hospital. On submitting the bills for reimbursement, bills for room rent paid …Read more

The Petitioner was an individual concerned about the high rate of employment of children in the Match factories of Sivakasi in Kamaraj District of Tamil Nadu State. He contended that such employment was hazardous and unconstitutional. Being aggrieved, he filed a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution. The Respondent Government did not deny …Read more

Surjit Singh, the Appellant, developed a heart condition when he was the Deputy Superintendent Police. While on leave to visit his son in England, the Appellant had to be admitted into a hospital for by-pass surgery. On returning to India, he submitted his medical bills for reimbursement. The State of Punjab, the Respondent, had agreed …Read more

Kirloskar Brothers Ltd., the Appellant, had its registered office in Maharashtra with regional offices in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The Employees State Insurance Corporation, the Respondent, required the Appellant to contribute their share for their workmen’s health insurance, as required by Section 3(9) of the Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948 (the Act). Disputing the liability, …Read more

The Government of Orissa had failed to open a health facility in a village, despite meeting a number of prescribed conditions. The first condition concerned the minimum provision of land by the local people, within a prescribed timeframe. The second requirement was the provision of adequate buildings for the facility and staff. The Petitioner claimed …Read more

The appellant, a retired government official was informed by Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Chandigarh that no accommodation was available in the hospital at the time when he needed an urgent surgery to be performed against a malignant growth in his kidney. Consequently, he went immediately to the United Kingdom to get his surgery done …Read more

Section 2(11) of the Insurance Act, 1938 defined life insurance business as “business effecting contracts of insurance upon human life, including any contract where by the payment of money is assured upon death.” Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), a state owned insurance company, took out its cheapest life insurance policy, “Table 58”. It was …Read more

The Consumer Education and Research Center filed several writ petitions against the State of India under Article 32 (obligation to promote social justice and welfare of the people) of the Indian Constitution regarding the protection of workers against the occupational health hazards and diseases associated with asbestos exposure. The petitioner applied for remedial measures to …Read more

The writ petition related to the malfunctioning of administration of the Gwalior Mansik Arogyashala (the Hospital).

The Cuttack Development Authority (CDA) developed a new township called Ahbhinaba Bidanasi Kattaka to relieve the congestion of the city of Cuttack.  In 1994 a bout of heavy rains caused nearby rivers to flood Abhunaba Bidanasi Kanaka, cutting off the area from Cuttack, submerging local hospitals, and provoking looting.  The people of Abhunaba Bidanasi Kanaka …Read more

Petitioner, a medical practitioner, filed a petition requesting that the court direct the State of Madhya Pradesh and the Municipal Corporation, Gwalior to clean up the open drains, dirt, and contaminated water and rubbish which the petitioner claimed resulted in the spread of a cholera epidemic. The Municipal Corporation claimed that it performed it obligatory …Read more

Calcutta Electricity Supply Corporation (India) Ltd. (CESC), the Appellant, engaged contractors (the Respondents), including Mr. Subhash Chandra Bose, to provide “excavation, conversion of overhead electric lines and laying of underground cables under public roads, as well as for repair and maintenance.” The Regional Director of the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) notified the Appellant that …Read more

The petitioner, an influential businessman, filed a public interest litigation claim against two iron and steel companies, which the petitioner claimed had created health risks by dumping surplus waste from factory washeries in the form of sludge and slurry into the nearby Bokaro river. According to the petitioner, the sludge and slurry had been deposited …Read more

The Petitioner was an individual concerned about the high rate of employment of children in the Match factories of Sivakasi in Kamaraj District of the State of Tamil Nadu. Petitioner contended that such employment was hazardous and unconstitutional. He filed a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution seeking educational, medical and health facilities …Read more

The Petitioner, an individual, challenged the constitutionality of Sub-clause (b) of Rule 11 of the Karnataka Excise (Sale of Indian and Foreign Liquors) Rules, 1968 (the Rule). The Rule stated that “license for sale shall be issued to only such company owned or controlled by the State Government as the State Govt. may specify.” The …Read more

After being knocked down in a motor accident with a speeding car, a scooter driver was taken to the nearest hospital by a good Samaritan. The nearest hospital refused to treat the victim. It directed him to another hospital twenty kilometres away which was apparently better suited to provide treatment in medico-legal cases. The victim …Read more

The Goa, Daman and Diu Public Health Act, 1985 (the Act) under Section 53(1)(vii) (the Section) gave the State Government the power to “isolate persons found to be positive for Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), for such period and on such conditions as may be considered necessary.” The Section contained other provisions, including mandatory isolation …Read more

This writ petition had been filed in the Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Constitution (right to move the Supreme Court for violation of fundamental rights), as a result of a letter outlining the condition of women in a “care home.” It was alleged in the letter that female inmates were made to live …Read more

Due to discharge of untreated effluents in the Ganga river, the water of the river was rendered unsafe for drinking, fishing and bathing purposes, essentially creating a public nuisance. In M.C. Mehta v. Union of India & ors., ((1987) 4 S.C.C. 463), the Court had held the city municipality, Kanpur Nagar Mahapalika (Mahapalika), responsible for …Read more

In 1985 the Petitioners wrote a letter to the Court regarding the deteriorating state of the Ranchi Mansik Arogyashala, a mental hospital (the Hospital) in Bihar. The Court treated it as a public interest litigation under Article 32 of the Constitution. The Court directed the Chief Judicial Magistrate to visit the Hospital and submit a …Read more

The Petitioner, Vincent Panikurlangara, filed this public interest litigation in the Supreme Court. He sought directions for implementation of an adequate, central policy and establishment of a central drug standards authority, with suitable enforcement powers to ban “harmful and injurious drugs.” Sections 10-A and 26-Aof the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 (the Act) conferred on …Read more