No ambulance without Aadhaar? Telangana High Court asks Govt to clarify insistence on ID in medical emergencies

The PIL, filed by paralegal volunteer K Raju, stressed the incident and urged the court to direct the authorities to ensure accessible and timely emergency medical services for all, regardless of documentation.

During the hearing, the bench asked if an Aadhaar card was being insisted upon for transporting an accident victim in an ambulance. “We are only trying to find out if a person who has met with an accident and is lying on the road, some passerby calls the service, will he not be transported unless his Aadhaar card is shown?” the bench asked.

‘Bring on record the department’s stance’

When the assistant government pleader, appearing for the Department of Health, Medical and Family Welfare, responded saying that the Aadhaar card was necessary, the bench remarked that “a person who meets with an accident on the road or any person who is faced with an emergency, where he/she is not in possession of Aadhaar card, does not derive the benefit of the emergency service. Is it like that? That unless the Aadhaar is shown, the person is not transported to the nearest hospital?”

The petitioner’s counsel, B Koumuraiah, submitted that in the December 2024 incident cited in the PIL, the victim belonged to a vulnerable Scheduled Caste community. He also highlighted the inaction of the emergency services. The assistant government pleader submitted that treatment was being provided to patients even in the absence of the Aadhaar card, but the bench pointed out that the issue at hand was not about treatment but transportation to the nearest hospital.

When the assistant government pleader sought adjournment to file a counter-affidavit, the bench observed that it would be better to bring on record the department’s stance on whether any identification documentation was necessary in cases of medical emergency.

The case was then adjourned to be listed for further hearing after three weeks.