New Delhi, Sep 22 - Delhi High Court Tuesday directed Apollo Hospital to provide free treatment to poor patients and imposed a fine of Rs.200,000 on it and the Delhi government for not abiding by an earlier court order.
Giving directions to the hospital, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice Manmohan asked the hospital to reserve 33 percent in-house beds and 40 percent of the OPD for poor patients.
'Health right is a fundamental right and no one should be devoid of this,' the court said while hearing the 12-year-old legal battle.
The court also directed the hospital not to charge a single penny from poor patients for medicine and other tests.