Right to Health [Right to Healthcare] Legal framework of Right to Health

Right to Health [Right to Healthcare] Legal framework of Right to Health

The right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. Internationally, it was first articulated in the 1946 Constitution of the World Health Organization (WHO), whose preamble defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. The preamble further states that the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition.

The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights also mentioned health as part of the right to an adequate standard of living. The right to health was again recognized as a human right in the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The right to health is relevant to all States: every State has ratified at least one international human rights treaty recognizing the right to health. The right to health is a fundamental part of our human rights and of our understanding of a life in dignity.

As our country is a founder member of the United Nations, it has ratified various international conventions promising to secure Health care right of individuals in society. In Indian Constitution does not expressly recognize the fundamental right to Health.

The term Right to Health is nowhere mentioned in the Indian Constitution yet the Supreme Court has interpreted it as a fundamental right under Right to Life enshrined in Article 21. It is a significant view of the Supreme Court that first it interpreted Right to Health under Part IV i.e., Directive Principles of State Policy and noted that it is the duty of the State to look after the Health of the people at large. In its wider interpretation of Article 21, it was held by the Supreme Court that, the Right to Health is a part and parcel of Right to Life and therefore one of fundamental rights provided under Indian Constitution.

However, Article 21 of the Constitution of India guarantees a fundamental right to life & personal liberty. The expression life in this article means a life with human dignity & not mere survival or animal existence. It has a much wider meaning which includes right to livelihood, better standard of life, hygienic condition in workplace & leisure.

The Supreme Court in Paschim Bangal Khet Mazdoor Samity case (1996) held that in a welfare state, the primary duty of the government is to secure the welfare of the people and moreover it is the obligation of the government to provide adequate medical facilities for its people.

Also, in its landmark judgment in Parmanand Katara Vs Union Of India (1989), Supreme Court had ruled that every doctor whether at a government hospital or otherwise has the professional obligation to extend his services with due expertise for protecting life

The Apex Court, in Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samity v. State of West Bengal, while widening the scope of Article 21 and the government’s responsibility to provide medical aid to every person in the country, held that in a welfare state, the primary duty of the government is to secure the welfare of the people. Providing adequate medical facilities for the people is an obligation undertaken by the government in a welfare state. The government discharges this obligation by providing medical care to the persons seeking to avail of those facilities

Indian Constitution is concerned, nowhere the term ‘health’ or ‘right to health’ has been defined in it. Through Judicial interpretations it has been observed that ‘right to life’ also includes ‘right to health’ and thus it is a fundamental right. But till date it has not been given due recognition for which public interest litigations have been filed frequently on health issues involving fundamental right to health, rights of workers to occupational health and safety, right to clean environment, right to adequate drugs, medical negligence, right against medical malpractice, right to emergency health care, public health care etc. It is high time, let us be united and do the needful to achieve this goal and to live health