Parmod KumarNew Delhi, Oct. 8 -- The Supreme Court on Thursday called for a permanent financial support mechanism for patients suffering from Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a rare genetic disorder, observing that access to prohibitively expensive treatment should not be left to occasional charity or ad hoc government assistance.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana asked senior advocate and amicus curiae Aparajita Singh to prepare a comprehensive proposal for the creation of a dedicated corpus that could receive regular contributions and provide sustained assistance to patients in need.
The bench emphasised that what was required was not a one-time arrangement but a continuing and dependable s...