Delhi HC directs Police to hand over Yemen-based couple's passport taken by Private Hospital

New Delhi: The Delhi High court has directed Delhi police to hand over to Yemen national and his wife's passport recovered from the interpreter working for a private hospital and all the documents related to the treatment of his one-year-old child.

Justice Yashwant Varma directed the Delhi police to hand over the passport to the petitioner Mahfood Qasem Ali Amer Al Garadi. The court granted liberty to approach the appropriate forum for seeking compensation from the hospital.

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that the petition has been filed by Mahfoodh Qasem Ali Amer Al Garadi who sought the court's intervention in returning the passports of his wife and infant son. He further requested the court to direct the setting up of a medical board to determine the present medical condition of his child, who was operated on twice at the hospital. The court had taken note of the complaint made by the Yemen embassy in India in connection with this case on July 11 and had subsequently asked the police to respond to the petition.

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The Court also granted liberty to the petitioner to approach the competent body for the inquiry in the alleged medical negligence committed during the treatment of the child of the petitioner.

The foreign national had approached the High court seeking direction from the hospital to release his and his wife's passport, direction to the government authorities to take legal action against the hospital and the interpreter and constitute a medical board to enquire into the negligence in the treatment of the one-year-old child of the petitioner.

The counsel for the Delhi police submitted that the passport has been recovered and would be handed over to the petitioner. An FIR has been registered in this matter and an investigation is in progress.

The Delhi police have registered an FIR on the complaint of the official of Yemen Embassy against the interpreter Lubna Ahmed in relevant sections. It is the second time the embassy gave a complaint to the hospital against the interpreter. Earlier also she had cheated another Yemen National.

The petition moved through advocates Tariq Siddiqui and Ahmed Shahriiz, sought direction from the hospital to return the passport of the petitioner's wife namely Sumaia Farea Mohammed Manea and infant son namely Aiham Mahfoodh Qasem Ali Al-Garadi to facilitate the petitioner, his wife and the minor son return to his country Yemen.

The petition had also sought direction to the Central Government and the Ministry of Health and Family welfare to constitute a medical Board to ascertain the present medical condition of the infant child of the petitioner who has been treated and operated on twice by the respondent hospital and whether the correct line of treatment was provided by the respondent hospital.

The petitioner had also sought direction Commissioner of Police, Delhi to investigate the entire scam whereby the petitioner was lured for the treatment of his infant child at the respondent hospital and collect all documents pertaining to the treatment given to the infant child and money transactions between the petitioner and respondent hospital and the interpreter Lubna and submit the same to this Court. The petitioner had alleged that the passport were taken by Nakul Kumar, the manager of the hospital and interpreter Lubna.

During the court proceedings, the counsel for the hospital had submitted that the interpreter Lubna is not their employee. The claim was rebutted by the petitioner's counsel that she was engaged and provided by the hospital to the petitioner as he does not know Hindi or English.

On July 12, a Yemen national approached the Delhi High Court challenging the action of Max Super Specialty Hospital in the city, allegedly confiscating passports of his family following dispute over the medical bills.

A single bench comprising Justice Yashwant Varma had then taken cognisance of the matter and has sought a response from the Delhi Police as well as the family's interpreter. It also took note of the "serious complaint" made by the Embassy of the Republic of Yemen, to the hospital, against the alleged action.

The family had approached the hospital for treatment of their infant son, suffering from Meningomyelocele (Spina Bifida), a birth defect affecting the development of the spinal cord. The family received a medical treatment visa from India and accordingly travelled to Delhi for their son's treatment.

The petitioner alleges that the respondent hospital, under the pretext of treating his son, charged him exorbitant, without providing any details of the medical treatment, medical bill and receipts/ invoices for the same. The petitioner further submitted that under the pretext of completing formalities for discharge of his infant son, he was asked to hand over his original passport, along with the passport of his wife and the infant child. However, later, when the petitioner requested the hospital to return the passports, he was asked to make the payment first. Eventually, while his passport was released, the hospital never returned the passports of the wife and the infant son, it is alleged.

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