NEW DELHI: The family of the baby, who was wrongly declared dead by Max Hospital in Shalimar Bagh, today welcomed the decision by the Delhi government to cancel its licence, saying the action will serve as a deterrent to other private hospitals.
"We are indebted to the Delhi government for taking swift action in the case. We have been protesting outside the hospital demanding action for last few days."
"And today, we feel somehow redeemed, that some justice has been delivered," said Sunil Kumar, uncle of the baby boy, who died on December 6 at a nursing home in Pitampura, after being on life support for a week.
The boy was one of the premature twins (other being a girl), born on November 30 at the upscale private hospital.
Both the babies were declared stillborn by the hospital and handed over to the family allegedly in a polythene bag.
But to their shock, the family discovered that the boy was still alive when they were on way to do the last rites.
Ashish Kumar, father of the babies, had refused to receive the boy's body, demanding that the erring doctors be arrested.
"We took the body yesterday and performed the last rites.
We are feeling very relieved that the government fast-tracked the case. We have planned to meet Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tomorrow and thank him for the support.
"The action will serve as a deterrent to other private hospitals," he told PTI.
"We will also hold a candlelight vigil to raise awareness about safety of newborns tomorrow," Kumar said.
Praveen Malik, grandfather of the twins, and his relatives shouted slogans outside the Max Hospital, hailing the Delhi government's decision.
According to the Directorate-General of Health Services (DGHS)of the Delhi government's health department, the licence was cancelled today till further order.
In the order issued by the DGHS, the keeper of the hospital has been directed to "refrain from admitting any new indoor patient and stop all outdoor treatment service in the premises with immediate effect".
A relative of a patient admitted in ICU at the hospital said: "No direction has been given to shift patients." Parag Chahal, who lives in the nearby Rohini neighbourhood, said no one has been advised to shift to other hospital immediately.
"I admitted my mother here three days ago because of pneumonia and the doctors have advised for a discharge on Monday," he said.