India, Oct. 1 -- New Delhi

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Delhi government to ensure that every private hospital allotted land at concessional rates fulfils its obligation to provide free treatment to the economically weaker section (EWS) of society.

The court issued the direction while dealing with the process to finalise guidelines to ensure EWS patients are not denied free treatment at hospitals bound by the land lease clause. The amici curiae in the matter submitted that EWS patients alleged that they were turned away by some hospitals, stating that they were not a part of the court proceedings.

A bench of justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shree Chandrashekhar said, "It has been brought to our notice that there are ot...