Delhi High Court has directed the
city government to ensure free food and medical treatment to HIV-positive
persons living below the poverty line and strictly comply with the law dealing
with the affected patients' grievances.
A
bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma observed that several
rehabilitative schemes and measures, including affordable treatment, had been
put in place by the Delhi government to provide aid and assistance to
HIV-positive patients and it was ensuring strict compliance under the Human
Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Prevention and
Control) Act, 2017.
"It is abundantly evident that the GNCTD is ensuring strict
compliance under the statutory provisions of the 2017 Act. Further, the GNCTD
has taken all possible steps to ensure that affordable treatment is available
to individuals afflicted with HIV/AIDS, who do not possess the financial
wherewithal to do so," the bench also comprising Justice Subramonium
Prasad said in an order.
"This court finds it apposite to mention that the government
shall ensure strict compliance of the statutory provisions under the 2017 Act,
read with its rules made thereunder. The government is also directed to ensure
free food and medical treatment to HIV-positive persons who are below the
poverty line and hence, are unable to afford the same," it added.
The court's order was passed on a petition by persons suffering
from HIV/AIDS and other multiple disabilities and ailments and had been
abandoned by their families and were without shelter.
The court opined that no further orders were required on the
petition and disposed of the case in view of the steps taken by the
authorities.
The
petitioners sought several directions to the Delhi government
and the Centre to provide housing, food, medical assistance etc to HIV/AIDS
survivors.
The Delhi
government submitted that the National AIDS Control Programme was being
implemented in the capital since 1998 by the Delhi State AIDS Society under the
technical and financial support of the Centre's National AIDS Control
Organization.
Noting that the 2017 Act "has been implemented across the
country with effect from 10.09.2018 to establish a robust system to deal with
grievances of affected persons", the court recorded that the Delhi
government had framed the relevant rules and appointed the district magistrate
as Ombudsman.
The court also recorded that there were schemes targeted towards
providing free Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) to the patients and financial
assistance as well as a travel concession to attend the ART centres. The scheme
had 20 enrolled beneficiaries and 429 applications are under process.
The Ministry of Urban Development & Poverty Alleviation said
that under its Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission, it aimed to provide
housing and basic services to the urban poor and slum dwellers in certain
cities but it did not have a specific scheme targeted towards rehabilitating
HIV/AIDS positive persons.