{"id":228328,"date":"2020-04-15T12:56:39","date_gmt":"2020-04-15T07:26:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=228328"},"modified":"2020-04-17T09:58:02","modified_gmt":"2020-04-17T04:28:02","slug":"covid-19-everyone-not-eligible-for-free-testing-kits-to-be-made-free-only-to-the-economically-weaker-sections-of-society-modified-order","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2020\/04\/15\/covid-19-everyone-not-eligible-for-free-testing-kits-to-be-made-free-only-to-the-economically-weaker-sections-of-society-modified-order\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19| Everyone not eligible for free testing kits; To be made free only to the economically weaker sections of society [Modified order]"},"content":{"rendered":"

Supreme Court<\/strong>: The bench of Ashok Bhushan and S. Ravindra Bhat, JJ has modified it\u2019s April 8, 2020 order in Shashank Deo Sudhi v. Union of India,\u00a02020 SCC OnLine SC 358<\/strong><\/a>, wherein it had asked the Centre to create a mechanism wherein private laboratories conducting COVID-19 tests do not charge exorbitant fees from public and government should reimburse the fees charged by labs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Court clarified that the said order intended to make testing in private Labs of COVID-19 free for economically weaker sections of the society who were unable to afford the payment of testing fee as fixed by ICMR for COVID-19.<\/p>\n

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\u201cthe order never intended to make testing free for those who can afford the payment of testing fee fixed by the ICMR for COVID-19.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The said modification came after Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi submitted before the Court that if the Labs are not to charge any fee for the tests, it will be impossible for them to carry on the test in due to financial constraint and other relevant factors as the kits which are utilized in the test are imported kits involving substantial expenses. He told the Court that insofar as the persons covered under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana, popularly called as Ayushman Bharat Yojana, the Labs are conducting free of cost COVID-19 test<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Clarifying it\u2019s earlier order, the Court said that the benefit of free testing by a person can be availed only when he or she is covered under any scheme like Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana. It, further, said,<\/p>\n

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\u201clooking to the plight of persons belonging to economically weaker sections of the society, the Government may consider as to whether any other categories of persons belonging to economically weaker sections of the society can be extended benefit of free testing of COVID-19.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Earlier Order<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n