India, April 18 -- The Bombay High Court on Friday sought a response from the union ministry of health and family welfare on a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking formulation of a welfare and support policy for patients suffering from Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis (SSPE), a rare neurodegenerative disease with a fatality rate of 95%.

A division bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Shyam Chandak directed the central government to file its reply affidavit within four weeks, after the petitioner informed the court that the government had in July 2025 stated that SSPE cannot be included under the existing National Policy for Rare Diseases, 2021, as it is incurable.

The PIL was filed by Mahadu Belkar, a 44-year-o...