Allahabad HC Stays UP Govt Order To Suspend Licence Of Amethi's Sanjay Gandhi Hospital

The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday put a stay on Uttar Pradesh Government's order to suspend the license of Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in Amethi

The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday put a stay on the Uttar Pradesh Government's order to suspend the license of Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in Amethi following the death of a 22-year-old woman. A division bench of justices Vivek Chaudhary and Manish Kumar said that an inquiry against the hospital would go on and asked the state to file its counter affidavit, according to PTI. The court's order comes amid an indefinite strike by over 400 employees of the hospital, including doctors, against the suspension of license which entered its ninth day on Wednesday. 

The license of the hospital, run by the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Trust headed by Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, was suspended on September 18 after the death of a woman following an operation. A halt was also put on the out-patient department and emergency services of the hospital. 

Chief of the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital Employees' Union, Sanjay Singh had said that the agitation would continue till the hospital reopens. People from Amethi and nearby areas are facing difficulties due to the closure of the hospital, he said.

A political row erupted over the issue after the protest was joined by former MLA and Congress leader Deepak Singh who accused local MP Smriti Irani of closing down the hospital.

Union Minister and Amethi MP Smriti Irani lashed out at the Congress, saying instead of supporting the family of the deceased, the opposition party was "crying over the loss of their profits".

22-year-old Divya Shukla was admitted to the hospital for a minor operation but her condition deteriorated on September 14 and she was rushed to a private hospital in Lucknow. She died on September 16.

Her husband alleged that she died due to an overdose of anaesthesia at the Amethi hospital.

On Sunday, District Panchayat Chairman Rajesh Agrahari held a march demanding justice for Divya's family. "BJP or our MP Smriti Irani doest want the hospital to be closed but no one will be allowed to play with the lives of anyone. The doctors of the hospital are playing with the lives of people," he said.