NHRC notice to Centre, K’taka govt over ‘suicide’ by old man over hospital ‘denying’ scheme benefit

The NHRC on Thursday said it has issued a notice to the Centre and the Karnataka government over reports that a 72-year-old man allegedly committed suicide in December last year after a state-run hospital in Bengaluru “denied” him the benefit of a welfare scheme.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has observed that the content of the media report, if true, raises a serious issue of violation of human rights.

Accordingly, the NHRC has issued notices to the secretary, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and the chief secretary, Karnataka government, seeking a detailed report within four weeks, it said in a statement.

The reports are expected to include the present status of the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) senior citizen scheme in Karnataka and other states and Union Territories, the statement said.

The NHRC said it has “taken suo motu cognisance of a media report that a 72-year-old man committed suicide on 25th December, 2024, as the state government-run Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology in Bengaluru, Karnataka, declined to provide him Rs 5 lakh cover under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) for which he had enrolled himself”.

Reportedly, the hospital “denied him the benefit of the scheme to the senior citizens” stating that the state government orders in this regard “had not arrived yet”, the rights panel said in the statement.

A few more cases regarding the problems being faced by the beneficiaries of the AB PM-JAY scheme for senior citizens have also been mentioned in the news report, it added.

The AB PM-JAY senior citizen scheme has been framed with an aim to ensure good medical care for senior citizens, especially those who are not able to foot the hospital bills and cost of specialised treatment and medicines, it said.

“If senior citizens are not getting the benefit of the scheme intended for their welfare, it may amount to violation of their right to health, which is inherent to a life with dignity,” the statement said.