Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that the state health secretary quietly filed a false affidavit to trap him with the help of the Services Department.

Elaborating on his allegation, the minister said the shortage of doctors, specialists, paramedics, and medicines in hospitals were hidden from the Delhi High Court to inconvenience patients by showing that the file related to it is pending with him. He called it a well thought out conspiracy to trap him.

Addressing a press conference here, Bharadwaj said during a hearing in case pending for the last several years, the Delhi’s Health Services said all hospitals in Delhi should have ICU beds. In this regard, some affidavits were submitted to the high court on behalf of the Health Department of Delhi. “When I came to know about it, I filed an affidavit in the high court pointing out that the primary problems in Delhi hospitals are being deliberately hidden and only secondary problems are being presented before the court.”

He said he told the court that the reason behind the problems related to ICU and operation theaters in Delhi hospitals are the acute shortage of doctors, specialists, paramedical staff and technicians in the hospitals. The court, taking cognizance of the matter, constituted a committee under the chairmanship of Dr. Sarin which later presented its report before the court and passed an order according to which the Delhi government should work according to the recommendations of the committee.

The petition was filed in 2017 and on 24 May 2024, an order was passed in the High Court that said the Health Department of the Delhi government should tell what work has the government done so far on the recommendations made by the committee of Dr. Sarin.

Bharadwaj said, “I am surprised that an affidavit was presented before the Delhi High Court on behalf of the Health Department of Delhi in this regard, but despite being the Health Minister of Delhi, neither was that affidavit shown to me nor was it approved by me. From 2023 till now, it has been said many times by me and the Law Department that if any affidavit is given to the High Court or Supreme Court or its NGT on behalf of the department, then it should be approved by the Minister in charge, because ultimately the accountability lies with the Minister. Despite saying it many times, this affidavit was given to the Delhi High Court without my knowledge and without approval.”

“This affidavit has not been approved by me, rather it has been approved by the Health Secretary, because all the things written in this affidavit are lies, whereas the truth is exactly the opposite. For a long time, I have been writing letters to the Chief Secretary and the Health Secretary, telling them that there is a huge shortage of medicines in the Delhi Government hospitals and Mohalla Clinics. In this regard, I have written letters on 12 February, 20 May, 5 June, 4 July, 16 July and 2 August, informing them about the huge shortage of medicines in the Delhi Government hospitals and Mohalla Clinics,” he claimed.

Bharadwaj said that for the last several months, he has been writing letters to the Health Secretary and the Chief Secretary informing them that there is a huge shortage of medicines in Delhi Government hospitals and Mohalla Clinics, and despite that, he alleged that a false affidavit was presented before the High Court, in which it was said that there is no shortage of medicines in Delhi Government hospitals and Mohalla Clinics.