Delhi high court directs hospitals, nursing homes to provide free medical treatment to rape and acid attack victims

NEW DELHI: In a rare but nice gesture, the Delhi high court on Tuesday asked the government, private hospitals and nursing home to provide free services to the victims of rape, acid attacks, sexual assaults, and survivors of POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) cases.

A bench led by Justice Prathiba M Singh and Justice Amit Sharma has issued a ruling requiring all government-funded institutions and private healthcare facilities to provide immediate medical attention to survivors of rape, acid attacks, and POCSO cases, ANI news agency reported.

The ruling specifies that treatment encompasses comprehensive care, including first aid, diagnosis, inpatient and outpatient services, laboratory investigations, surgical interventions, and various forms of counselling support for both survivors and their families.

The judiciary regularly encounters rape and POCSO cases where survivors require urgent medical care or extended treatment, including hospitalisation, diagnostic procedures, surgeries, medicines, and counselling support services.

The Court has observed that despite existing BNSS or CrPC provisions and MoHFW guidelines, survivors of sexual violence and acid attacks still encounter difficulties accessing free medical services.

Several directives have been issued by the Court, including the distribution of this ruling to all judicial bodies handling sexual offences, including POCSO Courts, Criminal Courts, and Family Courts.

The order ensures that all victims and survivors are informed of their legal entitlements under Section 397 of the BNS (Section 357C of the CrPC). Courts must also take appropriate action to direct cases requiring medical assistance to relevant healthcare establishments, whether public or private.

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