CWP No.10640 of 1994 -1- IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH CWP No.10640 of 1994 Date of decision : 26-07-2010 Gurmail Singh .... Petitioner VERSUS State of Punjab and others ....Respondents CORAM:- HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE KANWALJIT SINGH AHLUWALIA Present: Mr. S.K. Sharma, Advocate, for the petitioner. Ms. Ambika Luthra, AAG, Punjab. KANWALJIT SINGH AHLUWALIA, J. (Oral) Petitioner was posted as Deputy Superintendent of Police in the State of Punjab. In the year 1991 while posted at Kapurthala he suffered a heart attack and was admitted in Tagore Hospital, Jalandhar from 25.05.1991 to 3.06.1991. Thereafter, petitioner remained on medical leave for two months. As per advice of the Doctor, he was referred to Escort Heart Institute and Research Centre, Delhi. From 5.08.1991 to 7.8.1991 he remained admitted in the said Institute at Delhi and Angiography test was conducted. On the advice of the doctors on 2.09.1991, he was again admitted in the hospital for a period of 10 days. A By-pass surgery was conducted. Petitioner submitted his bills for medical reimbursement. The details of which are as follows:- Name of test. Date of Test. Price. Angiography 05/08/91 12500 Heart Surgery. (CABG) 02/09/91 95000 Advised full and Final. 23/9/91 2500 Total 1,10,000 CWP No.10640 of 1994 -2- The case of the petitioner was sent to the State Medical Board for sanction in its meeting held on 19.10.1992 and it was decided that he be paid an amount of Rs.60,000/- for byepass surgery and Rs.5600/- for angiography test as per the prevailing rates in All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi (hereinafter referred to as 'AIIMS'). In the present writ petition, petitioner has prayed that the entire amount of expenses incurred be paid and its reimbursement be not restricted to rates prescribed by AIIMS. State of Punjab formulated a policy on 13.02.1995. As per the policy, State employees are to be paid according to AIIMS rates. Before the policy on 13.02.1995 was adopted, due to intervention of this Court, all employees were held entitled to medical reimbursement of actual expenses. Petitioner relied upon a Division Bench judgment of this Court rendered in Sadhu R. Pall versus State of Punjab through Secretary Health and Family Welfare Punjab, Civil Secretariat, Chandigarh and others, 1994(1) Recent Services Judgments 335 to pray that he should also be given medical reimbursement as per actual expenses. The present writ petition was admitted. Now the question which arises for consideration of this Court is as to at what rates medical expenses are to be reimbursed to the petitioner. - Whether the policy dated 13.02.1995 upheld by Hon'ble Apex Court in State of Punjab versus Ram Lubhaya Bagga, 1998 AIR (SC) 1703 will apply retrospectively or not? In case, the policy is held to apply with retrospective effect, CWP No.10640 of 1994 -3- petitioner shall not be entitled to reimbursement of actual expenses and this Court had to hold that the payment of medical bills as per AIIMS rate is valid. Cue can be taken from the words of wisdom in State of Punjab versus Ram Lubhaya Bagga's case (supra) wherein in Para 17 it was observed as under:- "17. That was a case where the petitioner got heart attack being in England and was hospitalised and operated in Burminghom hospital and this Court held that inasmuch as Escorts' was one of the designatted hospitals under the old policy of the reimbursement permissble to the appellant would be at the rate as that of Escorts and not of AIIMS as ordered by the State." Taking clue from the above observation, this Court can hold that the medical claims of petitioner is to be decided in terms of the old policy prevalent before the year 1995. Therefore, petitioner shall be entitled to reimbursement of actual medical expenses incurred by him under the old policy (before 1995) in accordance with the norms prevalent at that time. In view of the above, the writ petition is disposed of. (KANWALJIT SINGH AHLUWALIA) 26-07-2010 JUDGE manju