A
central government servant is entitled for reimbursement even if he takes
treatment in a private hospital under emergent situation, the TN Bench of the
Central Administrative Tribunal has held.
M
Mohamed Salia, Deputy Chief Engineer, Southern Railway, while returning home,
suffered a heart attack on November 20, 2008. Due to the urgency of the matter,
his wife admitted him in the nearest private hospital Frontier Lifeline, as the
Railway Hospital was 10 km away from her residence. After a by-pass surgery and
necessary treatment, he was discharged on December 12, 2008. He paid Rs.3.10
lakh towards hospital bills.
When he
applied for reimbursement of Rs.2 lakh to which he was entitled, the railway
authorities rejected his claim on the ground that treatment in a non-recognised
private hospital without referral by the railway authorised medical officer was
not admissible. Hence, the present application.
Rejecting
the contentions, CAT judicial member G Santhappa said that in this case, the
applicant had produced the emergency certificate and that had not been
considered by the railways. The Personnel Branches Circular (PBC) dated May 4,
1994 listed under what circumstances reimbursement of medical expenses could be
made. It included that if a patient falls ill at a place where there was no
government or railway hospital and that if transporting the patient to the
nearest government hospital would result in loss of life, the servant could be
admitted in a private hospital. The rejection was against the law laid down by
the SC, the tribunal said, set aside the order and directed the railways to
sanction the amount in a month.
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