The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea seeking guidelines for conducting caesarean deliveries by hospitals, saying the petition was an abuse of the process of law.
A bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi, R Banumathi and Navin Sinha also imposed Rs 25,000 cost on petitioner Reepak Kansal, asking if it is the court's job.
At the very outset, the bench asked senior advocate Kiran Suri, representing the petitioner, “How much cost the petitioner would like to pay for filing this petition.”
Before the counsel could respond, the bench dictated the order, “Having perused the writ petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, we are of the view that the same is an attempt to abuse the process of the court.”
The court directed the petitioner to deposit the cost within four weeks in the SC Bar Association's account.
Violations galore
The petitioner claimed, “Flagrant violations and abuse of health norms” due to a lack of policy, were resulting in several private hospitals and maternity homes conducting unnecessary C-section deliveries to make money.