New Delhi, Jan 18 – The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed a plea seeking a court-monitored investigation into allegations of fake laboratory tests conducted at mohalla clinics established by the Aam Aadmi Party government.
The application referenced an incident from August last year, revealing unethical practices at certain clinics involving the use of pre-recorded videos to mark attendance.
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora rejected the application filed by social activist Bejon Kumar Misra within the framework of his existing PIL addressing “unauthorised pathological labs and diagnostic centres” in Delhi.
Given that the matter is already under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the court deemed no further order necessary.
The dismissed application had specifically requested a court-monitored inquiry, supervised by a former High Court judge, into claims of fraudulent laboratory tests at mohalla clinics.
It also called for the formulation of a policy to regulate the establishment and operation of pathological laboratories in the national capital. The plea urged the constitution of an appropriate authority for regular inspections of pathological labs and stressed strict adherence to the Clinical Establishment (Registration and Regulation) Act of 2010 in Delhi.
Citing a news report, the PIL claimed that out of nearly 1,000 diagnostic labs in Delhi NCR, only 10 per cent are accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).
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