SC notice to Centre on plea for free testing of COVID-19

The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Union government to respond to a plea by a lawyer to provide free of cost testing facility of COVID-19.

A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and Deepak Gupta issued notice to the Centre on a PIL by Shashank Deo Sudhi. The government has last month allowed private accredited labs to conduct the COVID-19 test at Rs 4,500.

The petitioner asked the court to declare the advisory of March 17, issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) as arbitrary and unconstitutional for violating Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution, for discriminating the accessibility of testing facilities for COVID-19 in an extraordinary health crisis.

“The government of our country is completely caught in a dilemma and is forced to take an irrational decision of arbitrary capping in respect of the testing facility for COVID-19 in private hospitals/laboratories at a rate of Rs 4500. This decision is extremely sad and unfortunate," the petition stated.

The petitioner also sought a direction to the ICMR and others for ramping up the testing facilities at the earliest given the escalating mortality and morbidity rate across the country.