Illegal eggs sale: HC quashes order to remove seal from pvt hosp

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Friday quashed an order of a single judge to remove the lock and seal from a private hospital in Erode for allegedly harvesting eggs of a minor girl.

The first bench comprising Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy passed the direction on hearing the appeal filed by the State Health and Family Welfare Department.

The authorities sought a direction to nullify the order passed by Justice Abdul Quddhose on July 21 to open the lock and seal from the hospital.

J Ravindran, Additional Advocate General (AAG) informed the court that the government had followed the rules and regulations for sealing the hospital.

“The hospital was sealed for taking the eggs of a girl nine times. A criminal case has been filed in this regard and three persons were arrested in this case. As per the law, it is unnecessary to hear the hospital before sealing and suspending the license, ” the AAG submitted.

However, the hospital’s counsel informed the court that they are having a clean record for the last 35 years. “The action has been taken against the hospital without any concrete reason. It is merely based on the grounds of news published in the media, ” the hospital side submitted.

Recording the submissions, the judge set aside the order of the single judge observing that the latter could have considered the seriousness and danger involved in the case.

“As the government had suspended the license in the interest of the public, after noticing that the hospital had violated the rules and regulations,” the CJ observed.