Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 5: Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Jammu Bench has declined to reimburse the amount of Rs 9,66,214 to the applicant Dr O P Gupta incurred on account of medical treatment of his wife availed at Leelavati Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai.
The order in this regard has been passed by Judicial Member Rajinder Dogra, who observed, “a person cannot be permitted to enjoy five-star facilities at the cost of taxpayers’ money, so the applicant is only entitled to the amount which is prescribed under the CGHS for empanelled hospital”, adding “the medical reimbursement claims of such private hospitals having the five-star facilities can be granted only in case of emergency and in case the treatment is not available in any CGHS empanelled hospital”.
As per the case, Dr O P Gupta, who retired as Senior Scientist from IIIM Jammu in 1999, opted for the fixed medical allowance claim up to 2019. Then the applicant went to the department and opted the scheme of the medical reimbursement by depositing a lump-sum amount of Rs 1,20,000. Thereafter, the applicant got his wife medically examined from the doctor of IIIM, Jammu/respondent’s dispensary and the Medical Officer of CSIR-IIIM, Dispensary, Jammu advised her to seek Orthopedician review at Govt/CGHS approved hospital for the same.
But, despite the advice, the applicant opted to get his wife treated in a five-star hospital—Leelavati Hospital and Research Center, Mumbai where she was diagnosed to have enlarge vertebrae (spinal disc problem) and consequently, she underwent surgery over there and the charges incurred on account of her treatment were submitted by the applicant to the department seeking reimbursement of Rs 9,66,214 on medical grounds.
The department rejected the claim of the applicant so the applicant being aggrieved of such action of the respondents, approached the court. The court observed, “neither there was any medical emergency nor there was non-availability of empanelled hospitals. There were hundreds of empanelled hospitals between Jammu and Mumbai where the treatment was readily available. It seems that the applicant after having neglected the CGHS empanelled hospitals had chosen to get treated at Leelavati Hospital, Mumbai, just to avail five-star facilities over there”.
“But this cannot be done at the cost of taxpayers’ money, hence the claim of the applicant is rejected and the same is limited to the extent of usual rates prescribed by the CGH Scheme for the empanelled hospitals and the rest amount would be borne by the applicant himself”, read the order.
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