Bringing relief to a man from Madurai, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court directed the State government to grant medical assistance under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Medical Insurance Scheme to his two grandchildren. The girls are affected by Retinitis Pigmentosa with Atrophic Maculopathy, a rare genetic disorder.
The court was hearing the appeal preferred by the State against the order of a single bench that had directed the State to grant medical assistance to L. Joseph’s grandchildren under the scheme in 2017. The court took note of the pitiable condition of the family and had allowed the petition filed by him.
In its appeal, the State said that the reason for not considering the claim was that the said disorder was not a listed disorder/disease for which financial assistance would be granted. The State also said the treatment was taken in an Ayurvedic hospital in Kerala which was not a listed hospital.
A Division Bench of Justices T.S. Sivagnanam and S. Ananthi took note of the fact that the medical condition of the girls was a rare condition which affected one person in about one lakh population. The court also took note of the fact that the treatment taken at the government hospital and private eye hospitals in Madurai did not yield results.
The court took into account the fact that the Ayurvedic treatment had given some relief to the children and they could maintain 10 degrees of vision. The court observed that the Ayurvedic treatment has also been considered as one form of medicine and the Union government has recognised the same.
The court observed that the Ministry of Ayush had developed various schemes to benefit the general public. Considering the case on hand as the rarest of rare cases where the State should show compassion, the court dismissed the appeal and directed the State to implement the order and direction given by the single bench.
