Shelter patients awaiting treatment in subways: HC to hospitals
Sharma and Dixit highlighted that the subway from Gate 2 of AIIMS Metro station — where patients and attendants have already been taking shelter — can accommodate around 100 people.
The HC has now requested that for long-term measures, senior advocate Avi Singh — representing the NGO — provides comprehensive suggestions, along with mechanisms.
Acting on reports on packed night shelters forcing patients awaiting treatment and their relatives or attendants to sleep in the open in the cold, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) to temporarily take over subways around major hospitals immediately and make arrangements, including setting up of beds.
The direction came following a suggestion from Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma and Central government standing counsel Ashish Dixit who carried out a survey — according to which, there is an urgent requirement of at least 400 beds in and around AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital for patients and their attendants amid a lack of night shelters in the areas.
Sharma and Dixit highlighted that the subway from Gate 2 of AIIMS Metro station — where patients and attendants have already been taking shelter — can accommodate around 100 people.
Earlier this week, a bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia had instituted a suo motu PIL, taking cognisance of news reports on difficulties faced by patients and their attendants owing to a crunch in night shelters.
The bench on Wednesday orally dismissed DUSIB’s claim that it is running 322 shelters with an occupancy of 19,724 at present and that the shelters are still not running at full capacity. CJ Upadhyaya told DUSIB: “(Do you think) Is it sufficient (in a city with over two crore population)?”
The court also impleaded four central government hospitals — AIIMS, VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital, Lady Hardinge Hospital and Dr Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital — as parties to the litigation, as well as various civic and administrative authorities like Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Land and Development Office (L&DO), Public Works Department (PWD), New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), and Delhi Police.
It also implemented the Centre for Holistic Development as a party. The HC has now requested that for long-term measures to remedy the situation, senior advocate Avi Singh, representing the NGO, provides comprehensive suggestions, along with mechanisms.
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The bench also said that a meeting shall be convened under the chairpersonship of principal district judge (South) at 10 am on Thursday, to be attended by the officials of the NDMC, MCD, DMRC, DUSIB, Delhi Jal Board, BSES, Delhi Development Authority, Delhi Police, L&DO, besides AIIMS, Safdarjung Hospital, Lady Hardinge Hospital and RML Hospital to chalk out a short-term plan for meeting current exigencies.
The court sought a report from the principal district judge on the meeting, while posting the matter for Friday.
Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court
Professional Profile
Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express.
Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare).
Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others.
She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020.
With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram
Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025)
Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles:
High-Profile Case Coverage
She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy.
Signature Style
Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system.
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