Contempt plea filed over failure to reopen ESIC Model Hospital despite court order
Mumbai- A contempt petition has been filed before the Bombay High Court alleging "willful and deliberate defiance" against the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) and the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (PGIMSR) for allegedly failing to reopen the ESIC Model Hospital in Andheri by January this year.
The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed by former Deputy Mayor Rajesh Sharma through advocates Rahul Kamerkar and Aparajita R. Jha. In the petition, Sharma alleged that despite several years having passed, the ESIC has failed to take any effective steps to restore the functioning of the hospital, resulting in significant hardship for insured persons as well as the general public.
The PIL further stated that the Director General of ESIC should be sentenced to six months of civil imprisonment for willfully violating and defying the court's order, and should also be fined ₹2,000.
Before its closure, the ESIC Model Hospital located in Andheri provided essential medical services, including outpatient and inpatient facilities, an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), super-speciality treatments, diagnostic facilities, and emergency care. The hospital was shut down following a major fire incident in 2018.
Sharma issued a legal notice to the concerned officials on February 6 and also a final notice on February 27 of this year, in which he asked the officials to comply with the High Court's directives.
He stated that, despite receiving the notice, the ESIC "failed, neglected and refused to take any effective steps to comply with the directions and continued to remain in wilful breach thereof."
According to the HT media news report, on April 16, 2025, a Division Bench comprising Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Makarand Karnik directed the ESIC to reopen the hospital by January 31, 2026, and to strictly adhere to the stipulated timeline. This order was issued in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) which alleged that, following its closure, the hospital had been kept non-operational in an unlawful manner.
However, due to the prolonged lack of action and the public's urgent need for medical infrastructure, Sharma approached the court on April 14. He pleaded with the court to issue a directive ensuring that the hospital be reopened within a stipulated timeframe, and that certain of its departments commence operations immediately.
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