Jain intervenes to secure device for cardiac patient

Additional Solicitor General of India Satya Pal Jain today stepped forward to address a life-threatening crisis faced by a poor cardiac patient, Ravinder Kumar, during the hearing of a petition filed in public interest.

Jain assured a Bench of the Punjab and Haryana Court that he would personally take up the matter with the Director of PGIMER, Chandigarh, to ensure immediate financial assistance of Rs 3 lakh under the institution’s Poor Patient Welfare Fund.

The court directed the petitioner’s counsel to promptly provide details of the patient to Jain for a necessary follow-up. Recognising the urgency, the matter was listed for hearing on December 20.

The case revolves around Ravinder Kumar who recently underwent a cardiovascular surgery at PGI.

Petitioner Divya Sharma, a Delhi National Law University student interning under NGO Sri Sathya Sai Manav Seva, told the Bench through counsel Amar Vivek that the patient’s life now hinged on the functionality of an Automated Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (AICD) — a battery-operated device implanted during his surgery.

The battery was running out and the replacement cost of over Rs 3 lakh was far beyond Kumar’s reach. The petitioner added that Kumar’s pleas for financial aid under the Poor Patient Welfare Fund had so far gone unanswered.

Moved by the dire circumstances, Jain assured the court that the PGI Director would be informed to expedite the process.