New Delhi, The Supreme Court has directed all states and Union territories to operationalise the '112' helpline for emergency responses and establish a functional good samaritan grievance redressal system within three months.
A bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and A S Chandurkar observed that the right to trauma care is an integral part of the right to life, as enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
The court also directed the states to furnish periodic compliance reports by organising monthly meetings and uploading the minutes on the concerned portals.
The order was passed on a plea filed by Savelife Foundation, which raised the need for trauma care to be recognised as a matter of right in the Indian public law system.
The top court said a robust mechanism for trauma care must take a 'bottom-up approach' which accounts for various stakeholders, including bystanders, medical professionals, and emergency responders.
The court also permitted the Centre to issue a medical rescue protocol for trauma cases within three months and directed all states and UTs to operationalise the same within three months thereof.
The bench asked the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to issue guidelines prescribing the requisite data format for a trauma registry within eight weeks.
Additionally, the court directed the Centre, states, and UTs to undertake sustained, structured, multi-lingual mass-media campaigns covering helpline 112, the good samaritan protection under Section 134A of the Motor Vehicles Act, and the grievance redressal system.
