Karnataka HC orders BBMP, govt. to clear ₹10.41 crore COVID dues to private health centres pending since 2022
Two petitions
Justice S.R. Krishna Kumar issued the directions while allowing the separate petitions filed by BGS Global Institute of Medical Sciences, Kengeri and Vijayalakshmi Diagnostics Pvt Ltd (VDPL), Nagarbhavi.
BGS had sought directions for release of ₹4.53 crore and VDPL had sought release of ₹5.88 crore while pointing out that the authorities, though have admitted payment due to the petitioners, had said that they were unable to release the remaining amount due to pendency of enquiry before a One-Man Commission of Inquiry into the irregularities occurred during COVID-19 pandemic between 2020 and 2023. The petitioners have said that the payment of the remaining amount is pending since 2022.
The BBMP had told the court that it had sought permission from the commission of inquiry to release around ₹44 crore to various establishments towards the balance amount due for providing various health services during COVID-19, but the commission had rejected their request pending inquiry.
Not under inquiry
However, the court said that non-payment of dues in relation to RT-PCR tests conducted by the petitioners was not the subject matter of the inquiry before the commission.
'It is clear that in the light of the undisputed/admitted fact that the BBMP had not paid the legitimate dues payable to the petitioners, in the absence of any material to show any kind of nexus or connection whatsoever between the liability of the BBMP and the inquiry commission, it cannot be said that the BBMP was not liable to pay/clear the legitimate dues payable to the petitioners,' the court said while directing release of the amount to the petitioners within six weeks.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
24 minutes ago
- Time of India
No link between COVID-19 vaccines and sudden deaths: ICMR
The recent spike in heart attacks in India is attributed to multiple factors, including genetics, pre-existing conditions, lifestyle, and post-COVID complications, rather than COVID-19 vaccines, according to the Union Health Ministry. Studies by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) found no link between COVID-19 vaccines and sudden cardiac deaths, instead revealing that vaccination reduced the risk of heart attacks and mortality. Show more Show less
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
38 minutes ago
- Business Standard
'Our vaccines are safe': Covishield makers support ICMR-Aiims findings
The Serum Institute of India, the manufacturer of Covishield, has come forward in support of recent studies conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (Aiims), which reaffirm the safety of Covid-19 vaccines and their lack of association with sudden cardiac deaths. In a post on X, the Serum Institute of India said, 'In light of recent concerns, we affirm: Two large-scale studies by ICMR and Aiims, as cited by the Ministry of Health [@MoHFW_INDIA] have found no link between Covid-19 vaccines and sudden deaths. The vaccines are safe and scientifically validated.' In light of recent concerns, we affirm: Two large-scale studies by ICMR and AIIMS, as cited by the Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) have found no link between COVID-19 vaccines and sudden deaths. The vaccines are safe and scientifically validated. Source: — SerumInstituteIndia (@SerumInstIndia) July 3, 2025 This statement follows the release of major studies led by ICMR and Aiims which concluded that Covid-19 vaccines do not cause sudden deaths in adults. 'No link between vaccines and cardiac deaths' The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) said multiple agencies investigated the phenomenon of sudden, unexplained deaths across India. The results confirmed no direct causal relationship between these deaths and Covid-19 vaccines. 'Sudden cardiac deaths can result from a wide range of factors, including genetics, lifestyle, pre-existing conditions, and post-Covid complications,' the ministry said in a statement. One of the key investigations, conducted by ICMR's National Institute of Epidemiology, surveyed 47 hospitals between May and August 2023. Titled 'Factors associated with unexplained sudden deaths among adults aged 18-45 years in India', the study concluded that Covid-19 vaccination does not raise the risk of sudden unexplained death among young adults. An Aiims-ICMR study 'Establishing the cause in sudden unexplained deaths in young', suggested that most such fatalities were attributable to heart attacks, genetic predispositions, and poor lifestyle habits. Vaccines critical to public health, says govt Reaffirming the safety profile of vaccines, MoHFW said that data from ICMR and the National Centre for Disease Control show only rare instances of adverse effects. The ministry warned against misinformation that could fuel vaccine hesitancy. 'Statements linking Covid vaccination to sudden deaths are false and misleading,' it said. 'Speculative claims without conclusive evidence undermine public confidence in life-saving immunisation.' MoHFW said that Covid-19 vaccines were instrumental in saving millions of lives and continue to be vital in protecting against severe illness.
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
RFK Jr Is Playing With Babies' Lives
When Robert F Kennedy Jr was appointed secretary of health and human services, everyone knew he was capable of doing great damage. He had a long history of indulging conspiracy theories, particularly when it came to vaccines. Already, his attempt to re-assess immunisation schedules in the US has outraged pediatricians. But his latest broadside against science, a decision to withdraw US funding from the global vaccine alliance GAVI, may kill far more children than anything he has so far tried at home. The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, designed in cooperation between the US and UK governments, as well as philanthropic organisations - particularly Bill and Melinda Gates' foundation - was set up in 2000. Its mandate has been to increase access to vaccines for children whose families cannot afford them, primarily in the Global South. GAVI could have done more, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, but even so it is fair to describe it as one of the few great success stories for international collaboration in the past few decades. It's worth taking a moment to examine exactly how effective it has been at saving lives through its sustained focus on routine childhood vaccinations. One study published in the British Medical Journal calculated that its support for immunisation programs across the world had reduced infant mortality rates by over 9% and under-fives by 12%. During the pandemic, GAVI helped set up and administer the COVAX system for vaccine distribution to poorer countries. This took a while to get started, but eventually delivered two billion doses of various Covid-19 shots, saving hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, of lives. Initially, the Global South saw the developed world hog far more doses than they needed - Canada, a country of 40 million, had reserved 154 million doses by December of 2020 - while most other countries had simply no way to access any shots at all. GAVI, through COVAX, played a central role in addressing this shocking disparity. Kennedy's decision to end support to one of America's few remaining positive interventions in the Global South is both immoral and dangerous. It will cause resentment about inequities in worldwide healthcare access to spread and further damage US standing abroad when compared to countries like China. Kennedy's deference to conspiracy theories and nativism will cost children their lives. It may even wind up being worse than the decision to stop funding USAID programs, which has already led to chaos in the some of the poorest parts of the world. (A study published in The Lancet this week predicted those cuts could result in more than 14 million extra deaths globally by 2030.) But it will hurt the US as well. Not just because Americans cannot insulate themselves completely from an unhealthy world - the pandemic taught us that. But also because GAVI was designed around the principles of the market, and respect for intellectual property rights, institutions that serve US companies and consumers most of all. Critics argue that it is far too respectful of property rights and the profit motive. The charity Medecins Sans Frontières, for example, has complained that GAVI pays too much to the rights-holders and developers of vaccines, instead of to generics manufacturers, and that means that it costs more to immunise each child than it needs to. (Still, MSF acknowledges that half of the vaccinations it delivers every year are bought with GAVI money, and responded to Kennedy's withdrawal of funding by saying that now, "countless children will die from vaccine-preventable diseases.") The fact is that if GAVI goes, then so will many countries' incentives to respect intellectual property rights in the healthcare sector. The last thing that US companies - not just in pharmaceuticals, but across the board - need is for the future centers of economic growth in the Global South to take a pick-and-choose approach to paying rights holders. And all of us will be hurt if new and innovative medicines aren't developed because the global norms around rights and payments change. If Kennedy is allowed to follow his anti-science instincts then the US will be left unhealthier, less respected and poorer - and a million children in the rest of the world will never live to see adulthood. (Mihir Sharma is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A senior fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi, he is author of 'Restart: The Last Chance for the Indian Economy.)
