The Allahabad High Court exposed the poor condition of Prayagraj’s government hospitals, blaming private medical mafias for crippling public healthcare. It called SRN Hospital a “mortuary” and demanded urgent state action.
The Allahabad High Court has expressed deep concern about the condition of government medical services in Prayagraj.
The Court stated that the city’s public healthcare is in danger due to the control of private medical mafias. It particularly criticized the Swaroop Rani Nehru (SRN) Hospital, calling it not a hospital, but a mortuary.
In a strong order passed on Friday,
Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal said,
“Prayagraj is under the grip of medical mafias. SRN Hospital attached to Motilal Nehru Medical College is in a pathetic condition. The poor and helpless patients are being dragged by the touts posted by the medical mafias in the hospital to private medical set up and are not being treated in the hospitals attached to the medical college.”
The judge added,
“The government medical set up is under great threat from the private medical mafias of the city.”
This strong statement came after two lawyers, appointed as amicus curiae (friends of the court), submitted a report on the current condition of SRN Hospital.
They visited the hospital and found that there were not enough medical facilities and even doctors were not available in the Outpatient Department (OPD).
The court issued several orders to improve the SRN Hospital and asked the Uttar Pradesh government to take serious action.
It directed the state’s Principal Secretary to inform the state government about the court’s observations and, if required, bring the matter to the attention of the Chief Secretary and even the Chief Minister.
The court said,
“Prayagraj has just witnessed Mahakumbh in the month of January-February, 2025. SRN Hospital is just one km away from the mela area. According to state estimate, around 66.30 crores pilgrims took holy dip in Sangam. The medical infrastructure of the city is in shambles. It was by the grace of God that no untoward incident happened otherwise there was no medical facility available for treatment of the patients.”
It further stated,
“Prima facie, this court finds that nexus between private medical mafias and medical officers and staffs of the SRN Hospital has practically crippled the infrastructure and working condition.”
The High Court said that both the state and district administration had failed to provide basic health services to the people of Prayagraj.
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Referring to a report submitted earlier by the Principal Secretary of Medical and Health, the court noted that cities like Lucknow, Kanpur, and Gorakhpur have hospitals with more than 2,000 beds.
But in Prayagraj, where the world’s largest religious gathering took place recently, the government hospitals have only 1,750 beds.
The court stated,
“The state and district administration are totally failing in providing the basic medical facilities to the residents of Prayagraj. The earlier affidavit filed by Principal Secretary, Medical Health demonstrates that cities like Lucknow, Kanpur and Gorakhpur have hospitals with a capacity of more than 2000 beds but Prayagraj has only medical capacity of 1750 beds despite the fact that biggest religious fair on the earth was held in Prayagraj in the month of January-February, 2025.”
The court also criticized elected representatives from Prayagraj, including ministers in the Uttar Pradesh cabinet, for ignoring the worsening condition of the government hospital.
It said,
“The representatives of people in the parliament and state legislature from Prayagraj are also not taking any keen interest in the welfare and well-being of the citizens. There are ministers in the Uttar Pradesh cabinet from Prayagraj but they have not paid any attention to the deteriorating condition of the hospital attached to the medical college.”
To deal with the problem of government doctors working privately, the court directed the District Magistrate to form a special team.
This team will monitor the professors, associate professors, assistant professors, readers, and lecturers at the medical college and ensure they are not involved in private practice.
The court has fixed May 29 as the next date for further hearing on the matter.
This development highlights the urgent need for reform and accountability in the government health services of Prayagraj.
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The High Court’s observations and orders put the spotlight on the deep-rooted problems in public healthcare and call for immediate action to protect the lives of the city’s poor and helpless citizens.
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