SC ruling on Ayushman Bharat in Delhi | AAP vs BJP row explained

The Supreme Court on Friday (January 17) stayed an order asking the Delhi government to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Union health ministry by January 5 to implement the PM-Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM).

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Augustine George Masih issued notices to the Centre and others seeking their responses on a plea filed by the Delhi government against the December 24, 2024 direction of the Delhi High Court.

Also read: Delhi BJP MPs file writ petition against AAP for not implementing Ayushman Bharat scheme

‘Forced to sign MoU’

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the Delhi government, said the court should issue notice on the plea as the AAP government was forced to sign the MoU with the Central government.

“How can the high court force me (Delhi government) on a policy matter to sign an MoU with the Central government?” asked Singhvi.

In its order passed on December 24 last year, the high court referred to the minutes of the meeting held in December 2024 and noted the PM-ABHIM would have to be implemented in its entirety to ensure Delhi residents were not deprived of the funds and facilities under it.

Also read | How private hospitals in Gujarat are fiddling with lives to mint PMJAY benefits

It said the non-implementation of PM-ABHIM in Delhi, when 33 states and Union territories had already implemented it, would not be justified. It further said, "This MoU shall be signed irrespective of the model code of conduct, if any, as the same has been monitored by this court and is for the benefit of citizens of Delhi."

Politically motivated: AAP

Significantly, the AAP government had told the Delhi HC that it did not implement the Centre's Ayushman Bharat Yojana for medical insurance because the capital’s residents enjoy “superior” benefits under the Delhi government's schemes.

In an affidavit, Delhi’s Health and Family Welfare Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “Implementing the Centre's scheme would downgrade the health schemes currently in force in Delhi.”

Also read: PM Modi slams Delhi, WB govt for not implementing Ayushman Bharat scheme

The AAP minister was responding to a petition by seven BJP MPs, seeking the implementation of the central scheme. In his response, he has said that the petition, “ostensibly filed as a public interest litigation, is nothing else but a politically motivated petition, filed in view of the ensuing elections to the legislative assembly of Delhi”.

Stressing that policymaking is the exclusive domain of the Delhi government, the minister said it is settled law that no court will enter the domain of framing of policy.

Based on 2011 census?

The Delhi government also claimed that the Centre had used 2011 Census data for the Ayushman Bharat scheme.

Calling it “old and archaic”, Bharadwaj said the scheme does not take into consideration the evolving circumstances of the society.

“The old and archaic data would not be able to encompass the benefit, which would actually need to be provided to the people of Delhi. This assumes great importance in view of the fact that there are various limiting factors in the scheme framed by the Central Government, which if applied along with the 2011 data will render many people ineligible for benefits under the scheme, even though they are being provided free medical services under the schemes formulated by the Delhi Government.”

“Any scheme which is based upon an outdated data can by no stretch of imagination be thrust down the throat of any other government or for that matter people,” the affidavit added.

Also read: AAP blasts Modi over Ayushman Bharat scheme, dubs it a ‘scam’

AAP-BJP face-off

The AAP government has countered the demand for implementation of the Ayushman Bharat scheme in Delhi, saying it provides free health services while the Centre’s scheme has various restrictive eligibility criteria for the beneficiaries.

AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal on Friday called the Ayushman Bharat health scheme the “biggest scam” in the country. “Ayushman Bharat is the biggest scam in the country. When the central government changes and an inquiry is conducted into these scams, people will realise how big a scam Ayushman Bharat truly was,” PTI quoted him as saying.

On the other hand, the BJP has often slammed the AAP government for depriving the residents of Delhi of better health services by blocking the Ayushman Bharat scheme “due to political reasons”. Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva claimed the AAP government has turned down Rs 2,400 crore assigned to it under a central scheme to strengthen the medical infrastructure in Delhi.