Right to Health in the Constitution of India

Right to Health is not included as an explicit fundamental right in the Indian Constitution. Most provisions related to health are in Part-IV {Directive Principles}. These are:

• Article 38 says that the state will secure a social order for the promotion of welfare of the people. Providing affordable healthcare is one of the ways to promote welfare.
• Article 39(e) calls the state to make sure that health and strength of workers, men and women, and the tender age of children are not abused.
• Article 41 imposes duty on state to provide public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement etc.
• Article 42 makes provision to protect the health of infant and mother by maternity benefit.
• Article 47 make it duty of the state to improve public health, securing of justice, human condition of works, extension of sickness, old age, disablement and maternity benefits and also contemplated. Further, State’s duty includes prohibition of consumption of intoxicating drinking and drugs are injurious to health.
• Article 48A ensures that State shall Endeavour to protect and impose the pollution free environment for good health.

Apart from DPSP, some other provisions related to health fall in 11^th schedule and 12^th schedule as subjects of Panchayats and Municipalities respectively. These include drinking water, health and sanitation, family welfare, women and child development, social welfare etc.

The above description makes it clear that most provisions related to health fall in DPSP in the constitution. They are non-justifiable and no person can claim for non-fulfilling of these directives. However, Judiciary has widely interpreted the scope of Right to Health under Article 21 (right to life) and has thus established right to health as an implied fundamental right. Not only article 21 but also other articles under Part-III have been linked to Right to Health. For example, Article 23(1) prohibits traffic in human beings. Since trafficking of women leads to prostitution, which in turn is to major factor in spread of AIDS, this article has been linked to Right to Health. Similarly, Article 24 says that No child below the age of 14 years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment. It is directly related to Child health.

Further, in relation to the serious medical cases, the supreme court has provided certain directions such as:

• Provision of adequate health facilities at public health centers.
• Upgradation of sub-divisional level hospitals to make them capable of treating serious patients.
• To ensure availability of bed in any emergency at State level hospitals, there should be a centralized communication system so that the patient can be sent immediately to the hospital where bed is available in respect of the treatment, which is required.
• Proper arrangement of ambulances adequately provided with necessary equipments and personnel.

Further, the Supreme Court in Paramanand Katara v Union of India  case gave a landmark judgement that a every doctor at government hospital or otherwise has the professional obligation to extend his services with due expertise for protecting life of a patient.