Bombay HC Raps ESIC Over Delay in Reopening Andheri Model Hospital

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday pulled up the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) over its failure to comply with court directives to reopen the ESIC Model Hospital in Andheri, observing that it was the right time to send the authorities to jail for contempt of court.

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra V Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad made the remarks after former deputy mayor Rajesh Sharma pointed out that not even 20 per cent of the work required to make the hospital functional had been completed.

Remarking on the delay, the bench noted that so much time had passed and that the authorities had disobeyed court orders.

The ESIC Model Hospital in Andheri was closed down in 2018 following a major fire incident. Prior to its closure, the hospital provided essential medical services, including outpatient and in-patient care, an intensive care unit, super speciality treatment, diagnostic facilities, and emergency care.

On April 16, 2025, a division bench of Justices Alok Aradhe and Makarand Karnik had directed ESIC and the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (PGIMSR) to restart the facility by January 31, 2026, and scrupulously adhere to the timeline. That order was passed in response to a public interest litigation claiming the hospital was kept inoperative illegally.

Sharma moved the High Court on April 14, alleging wilful and deliberate disobedience of the court's earlier order. In the petition, filed through advocates Rahul Kamerkar and Aparajita R Jha, Sharma stated that ESIC had failed to take effective steps to restore operations, causing grave hardship to insured persons and the general public.

The petition sought directions to restart the hospital in a time-bound manner with partial operations starting immediately. It also urged the court to punish the ESIC director general with civil imprisonment for six months and impose a ₹2,000 fine for breaching the order.

During the hearing, ESIC requested time to obtain instructions from authorities regarding the progress of work. The bench subsequently directed ESIC to file an affidavit detailing the status of the restoration work and posted the matter for the next hearing on August 25.