Taking suo motu cognizance of the sudden collapse of cardiac services at the Government Super Speciality Hospital (GSSH) here, the J&K and Ladakh High Court on Tuesday pulled up the Union Territory administration and issued notices over a lapse that has left critical patients in grave danger.
The crisis unfolded on Monday when vendors suspended the supply of essential cardiac devices, stating that bills worth around ₹30 crore under the Prime Minister’s Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) had remained unpaid for more than a year.
The issue was brought to the court’s attention by Advocate S.S. Ahmed during the hearing of a public interest litigation concerning inadequate health services in medical institutions.
Reacting to the suspension of cardiac services, the division bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal observed, “Ex facie, the matter is highly sensitive. Thus, we are impelled to take suo motu cognizance of the prevailing conditions.”
The court further directed, “Accordingly, the Registrar (Judicial) of this court is requested to register and number a petition as ‘Court on its own motion vs Nemo’ in public interest and place it before this bench during the course of the day.”
The judges noted that their examination of the report revealed that cardiac services at GSSH had come to a grinding halt after authorised vendors supplying emergency cardiac devices including stents, pacemakers, balloons, and Cath Lab consumables suspended all supplies due to unpaid dues amounting to nearly ₹30 crore under PMJAY. As a result, the hospital’s Cath Lab operations have been completely paralysed.
The court observed that GSSH typically performs around twenty-five cardiac procedures daily, but due to the current impasse, not a single heart-related intervention could be carried out throughout the day, placing vulnerable cardiac patients at serious risk.
Meanwhile, vendors claim that pending payments with Amrit Pharmacy, operated by Hindustan Lifecare Limited (HLL), and the State Health Agency (SHA) have steadily accumulated over the past year. Despite repeated reminders and formal notices, the dues remained unpaid, forcing distributors to halt supplies after parent companies refused to dispatch fresh consignments without clearing the overdue amounts, they said.