Treat accident victims immediately, no advance payment required: Karnataka govt to hospitals
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government has reaffirmed the legal obligation of all medical establishments and practitioners to provide emergency treatment to accident victims without any delay or demand for advance payment.
A circular issued on Wednesday stated, “It is considered necessary to reiterate and direct the enforcing agencies and accident victims regarding the provisions of law and schemes prevailing in Karnataka regarding the treatment of accident victims in the state.”
Under the Karnataka Private Medical Establishments Act, 2007, the circular clarified that the term 'accident victim' includes not just road mishaps but also “accidental or induced burns or poisoning or criminal assaults and the like which are medico legal or potential medico legal cases."
It further said, “Whenever such an accident victim comes to a medical establishment or is brought before a medical establishment, he should be treated in such emergencies without insisting on advance payment.”
Any violation will invite penalties up to Rs one lakh under Section 19(5), the circular said.
Citing the Karnataka Good Samaritan and Medical Professional Act, 2016, the government reminded that every hospital shall be required to provide immediate medical screening services and first-aid at free of cost and the appropriate treatment as it considers necessary, in order to improve the health conditions and recovery of any such injured person.
Hospitals lacking facilities must stabilise the patient before transfer, along with complete medical records, it said.
The circular also invoked Section 187 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, cautioning that failure to comply could lead to imprisonment up to three months or fines up to Rs 500, and for repeat offences, imprisonment up to six months or fines up to Rs 1,000.
Referring to the Cashless Treatment of Road Accident Victims Scheme, 2025, it noted, “A road accident victim shall be eligible for cashless treatment in any designated hospital for an amount up to rupees one lakh fifty thousand per victim for period of seven days from the date of accident.”
The state road safety council will serve as the nodal agency, with reimbursement routed from the Motor Vehicles Accident Fund.
The circular reminded that Karnataka already has a state-level scheme for cashless treatment for accident victims up to 48 hours, covering 76 lifesaving services in government hospitals, medical colleges, and SAST-empanelled hospitals.
“Every registered medical practitioner and every medical establishment shall provide first aid and stabilize the accident victim without any delay or deny, failing which he shall be liable for punishment as specified above. Every authority responsible for implementing the above provisions shall take immediate steps to facilitate the accident victim to procure these healthcare facilities,” the circular said.
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Illegal sand mining has created environmental crisis in National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary: SC
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday said rampant illegal riverbed sand mining has created an "environmental crisis" and wreaked "havoc" in the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary, causing a grave risk to the gharial (long-snouted crocodile) preservation project.
Slamming the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh for their utter failure in dealing with the issue, the apex court directed them to install high-resolution Wi-Fi-enabled CCTV cameras along all routes frequently used for illegal sand mining in the area.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta directed that live feed of such surveillance cameras shall be placed under the direct control, supervision and operational oversight of the superintendent of police or the senior superintendent of police of the concerned district and the divisional forest officer.
It said these officers shall ensure continuous and effective monitoring of the CCTV feeds by designating appropriate officers.
"It can't be gainsaid that the issues involved are of great concern in as much as the rampant illegal mining activities in the river bed have created an environmental crisis and havoc in the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary causing a grave risk to the very project of gharial preservation of which the state governments themselves were proponents and were under an obligation to foster and promote," Justice Mehta said while pronouncing the order.
The bench directed the authorities in these three states to initiate prompt and necessary action under law if any instance of illegal mining or allied activities comes to light.
It said the authorities shall ensure seizure of vehicles or machinery found involved in illegal sand mining and also initiate prosecution of persons involved in it.
The bench, which passed several other directions, posted the matter for hearing on May 11.
The top court passed the order in a suo motu case titled 'In Re: Illegal sand mining in the National Chambal Sanctuary and threat to endangered aquatic wildlife'.
The National Chambal Sanctuary, also called the National Chambal Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary, is a 5,400-sq km tri-state protected area.
Besides the endangered gharial, it is home to the red-crowned roof turtle and the endangered Ganges river Dolphin.
Located on the Chambal river near the tripoint of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, the sanctuary was first declared a protected area in Madhya Pradesh in 1978 and now constitutes a long and narrow eco-reserve co-administered by the three states.
On March 13, the top court took suo motu cognisance of news reports about rampant illegal sand mining on the banks of the Chambal river.
