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The Constitution of India has provisions regarding the right
to health. The obligation of the State to ensure the creation and the
sustaining of conditions congenial to good health is cast by the Constitutional
directives contained in articles 38, 39 (e) (f), 42, 47 and 48 A in Part IV of
the Constitution of India.
India is a party to the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International
Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. The Supreme Court held that
Article 21 of the Constitution of India in relation to human rights has to be
interpreted in conformity with international law.
(1). Further, Article 25 [2]
of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 7 (b) of the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has been cited
by the Supreme Court while upholding the right to health by a worker.
(2).These covenants find statutory
acceptance in the Statement of Objects and Reasons of The Protection of Human
Rights Act, 1993. In addition, human rights commissions are empowered to study
treaties and other international instruments on human rights and make
recommendations for their effective implementation.
(3). In the recent past, many
complaints of alleged medical negligence and deficient service by private and
government hospitals and medical professionals have been filed with the
national or state Human Rights Commissions. The Constitution of India on the
right to health care The Constitution incorporates provisions guaranteeing
everyone’s right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental
health. Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees protection of life and personal
liberty to every citizen. The Supreme Court has held that the right to live
with human dignity, enshrined in Article 21, derives from the directive
principles of state policy and therefore includes the protection of health.
(4). Further, it has also been held
that the right to health is integral to the right to life and the government
has a constitutional obligation to provide health facilities.
(5).Failure of a government hospital
to provide a patient with timely medical treatment results in a violation of
the patient’s right to life.
(6). Similarly, the Court has upheld
the state’s obligation to maintain health services.
(7).Public interest petitions have
been filed under Article 21 in response to violations of the right to health.
They have been filed to provide special treatment to children in jail.
(8); on pollution hazards.
(9); against hazardous drugs.
(10); against inhuman conditions in
after-care homes.
(11); on the health rights of
mentally ill patients.
(12); on the rights of patients in
cataract surgery camps.
(13); for immediate medical aid to
injured persons.
(14); on conditions in tuberculosis
hospitals.
(15); on occupational health hazards.
(16); on the regulation of blood
banks and the availability of blood products.
(17); on passive smoking in public places.
(18); and in an appeal filed by a
person with HIV on the rights of HIV/AIDS patients
Bandhua Mukti Morcha vs. Union of India, a case concerning the living and working conditions of stone quarry workers and whether these conditions deprived them of their right to life. The court held that humane working conditions are essential to the pursuit of the right life. It lay down that workers should be provided with medical facilities, clean drinking water, and sanitation facilities so that they may live with human dignity.
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