Jammu, J&K (India): A Division Bench of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh at Jammu, comprising Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal, took serious note of the dysfunctional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine at Government Medical College Hospital, Jammu, and two dysfunctional CT scan machines at Super Speciality Hospital, Jammu, and SMGS Hospital, Jammu.
The court directed the Principal, Government Medical College (GMC), Jammu, to file his affidavit by or before March 9, 2026.
When the much-publicised Public Interest Litigation (PIL), which was registered suo motu by the Division Bench based on a media report published in Daily Excelsior regarding the sudden stoppage of lifesaving cardiac implants, stents, and consumables affecting ongoing cardiac services such as angiography, angioplasty, stenting, and CCU management, came up for hearing, Advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed, appearing as Amicus Curiae, informed the Division Bench in open court that patients in Jammu have been suffering due to a dysfunctional MRI machine for the last one and a half months at GMC, Jammu. Apart from this, the CT scan machines at Super Speciality Hospital, Jammu, and SMGS Hospital, Jammu, have been lying defunct for more than one year.
Advocate S.S. Ahmed, along with Advocate Supriya Chouhan, further submitted that the issue has been highlighted on several occasions by print and electronic media, but the authorities remain unmoved, forcing poor patients to seek these facilities from private players at exorbitant rates.
After considering the submissions of Advocate S.S. Ahmed, the Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal expressed displeasure over the reported dysfunction of machines vital for healthcare and directed the Principal, GMC, Jammu, to file his affidavit on this issue of wide public importance by or before March 9, 2026.
In the main PIL, Sr. AAG Monika Kohli, along with Advocate Sagira Jaffer, appearing for the Principal, GMC, Jammu, informed the Division Bench that the affidavit of the SSP, Jammu, pursuant to the directions issued on the last date of hearing, had been filed; however, the same was not on record.
At this stage, Advocate S.S. Ahmed, along with Advocate Supriya Chouhan, apprised the Division Bench in open court that the police had closed the complaint as “not proved.”
Thereupon, the Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Arun Palli directed the personal appearance of the Investigating Officer on the next date of hearing along with the case diaries.
Considering the importance of the matter, the Division Bench directed the Registry to re-notify the instant PIL on March 9, 2026.DD