Girl denied disability certificate at Delhi's government hospital for not having Aadhaar card

Cheena Kapoor

27 Oct 2018

Aarti Kumar

DELHI : A 13-year-old class ninth student has been denied a disability certificate at a Delhi-government hospital because her parents Aadhaar card mentions Bihar's address, where the family originally hails from. This is likely to affect the girl's promotion to the next class as a special student requires a certificate stating the same.

Aarti Kumari lives with 100 per cent blindness in one eye and partial blindness in the other. As Aarti does not possess an Aadhaar card, she is now stressed about her academic future.

"I was sent back from the Delhi government-run Bhagwan Mahavir Hospital saying that they require her Aadhaar card and that of her parents' too. I have submitted Aarti's Aadhaar card, but mine and my husband's card had Bihar address and thus they are refusing disability certificate. They have asked us to get Aadhaar cards with Delhi address. This is now causing a problem in her school as she might get suspended," said Savita Devi, Aarti's mother.

Despite several intimations from the Delhi Health Department that Aadhaar Card is not mandatory at the hospitals, many state-run hospitals are sending patients back on the grounds that they do not have the document.

"There are no such directions from the Delhi Health Services and thus it is wrong if the hospital is making Aadhaar Card mandatory for the disability certificate. We only need a valid address proof for the certificate, it can be an identity card," said Dr Kirti Bhushan, Directorate General of Health Services.

Even as the Supreme Court verdict stated that no person should be denied any kind of benefit in absence of Aadhaar, several cases have come to light where hospitals are asking for Aadhaar cards.

The issue was highlighted days after a nine-year-old girl from Noida was denied treatment at the Delhi government's Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital for not having an Aadhaar and had to be admitted to the Safdarjung Hospital after intervention from Union Minister of Health, JP Nadda.

A statement from the Safdarjung hospital said the girl was admitted to the hospital on October 10 and diagnosed by pediatric neurologist Dr Rachna Sehgal on the directions of the Union health minister.

https://www.dnaindia.com/delhi/report-girl-denied-disability-certificate-at-delhi-s-government-hospital-for-not-having-aadhar-card-2679685