KOCHI: Justice PV Kunhikrishnan on Thursday dissented from another single judge’s finding that the state government has no power to decide the rate of RT-PCR test and directed the state government to pass appropriate orders in discussion with the managements of private laboratories.
The court referred the petitions filed by the Accredited Molecular Testing Laboratories Association, Kochi; Medivision Scan and Diagnostic Research Centre Pvt Ltd, Kochi, and others against the fixing of RT-PCR rate to the division bench for detailed hearing.
The High Court judge opined, “There is sufficient source of power to the state government to regulate the prices of RT-PCR tests. It is an admitted fact that the rate for RT-PCR test was originally fixed at Rs 4,500. Thereafter, it was reduced to Rs 2,700, then to Rs 1,700.
The ultimate person who is affected because of the fluctuation in the rate of RT-PCR test is the poor citizens of this country.” Recently, the state had slashed the rate from Rs 500 to Rs 300. Justice Kunhikrishnan said, “With great respect, I cannot accept the observation. The state was facing a pandemic situation. The state government was doing its level best to do the needful to see that the general public is not affected. In such a situation, the government took certain steps to control the price of RT-PCR test. In such a situation, this court (the other judge) ought not to have taken such a stand is my considered view.”
The court directed the High Court registry to place the petitions filed by the private labs against the government’s decision to slash the rate of RT-PCR test before the chief justice for appropriate orders. A detailed consideration of these aspects by a division bench is necessary, especially about the source of the power of the state government to regulate the price of RT-PCR tests, held Justice Kunhikrishnan.