IN WP 3664 OF 2022- BOM HC-No provision of law empowers Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the supervisory authority, to permanently seal any hospital registered under provisions of Bombay Nursing Home Registration Act: Bombay High Court
Justice Sunil B. Shukre and Justice Rajesh S. Patil [11.07.2023]

Read More: Dr. ShivrajChhotulalPataria v.  Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation

Simran Singh

New Delhi, July 12, 2023: The Bombay High Court has observed that as per Section 8(1) of the Bombay Nursing Home Registration Act, 1949 (Act of 1949), a show-cause notice of at least one month was required before canceling the registration of a nursing home, and in the present case no such notice was given to the petitioners.

The Division Bench comprising of Justice Sunil B. Shukre and Justice Rajesh S. Patil noted that the Act of 1949 did not empower the authorities to permanently seal a registered nursing home, thus finding the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's action to be illegal and arbitrary. Therefore, the High Court allowed the petitioner's writ petition, quashing the cancelation of registration order and directing the permanent seal on the hospital to be removed immediately. However, the petitioner was directed to obtain a renewal of registration as per law before restarting operations.

The Bench stated that “we could not come across any provision of law made in the Act 1949 empowering the supervisory authority to permanently seal any hospital registered under the provisions of the Act, 1949, nor learned counsel for the Corporation could show to us the existence of any such provision of law. In the reply of the Corporation, there is no reference made to any provision of law under which the action of sealing has been taken by a local supervisory authority like the Corporation. That apart; the hospital being an immovable property could not have been sealed under any provision of the Cr.P.C”

The Bench was of the view that the impugned action taken by the Corporation was devoid of any authority of law and was illegal, and therefore, needed to be quashed and set aside.

In the matter at hand, the petitioner filed a writ petition challenging the cancelation of the registration of his hospital and its permanent sealing by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (Corporation). Even before expiry of the certificate of registration, owing to some criminal cases registered against the petitioner, a drastic decision was taken by the respondent Corporation in permanently sealing the hospital of petitioner and cancelling its registration granted under Section 5 of the Act of 1949.

Senior Advocate AabadPonda, appearing on behalf of the petitioner argued that the Corporation's action was arbitrary and illegal as no show-cause notice was issued to the petitioner as required under Section 8(1) of the Act of 1949 and no opportunity of hearing as required under the law, was issued and given to the petitioner. He also argued that there was no prima facie evidence of the petitioner's involvement in the alleged offences as observed by the Single Bench of the High Court while granting bail to the petitioner.

The Corporation's counsel argued that since several criminal cases were registered against the petitioner and allegations against the petitioner were serious in nature, it was thought by the Corporation that larger public interest would stand served if the hospital was permanently sealed and its registration was cancelled. He submitted that the action taken by the Corporation against the hospital was on the basis of the information received by the police concerned, which required taking of serious cognizance of the matter and immediate action against the hospital run by the petitioner. He also submitted that in these circumstances giving of show-cause notice was not considered by the Corporation to be necessary.

The Bench while perusing Section 8 of the Act of 1949, stated that “before any order refusing registration of the hospital or cancelling registration of the hospital is passed, a show-cause notice giving time of not less than one calendar month is required to be given to the owner or the proprietor of the hospital or the applicant and such show-cause notice must make clear the intention of the supervisory authority to either refuse the registration or cancel the registration by giving the grounds on which the authority intends to make such an order.”