Himachal Pradesh High Court Gives big relief to the protesting citizens, patients, women groups, SAMDCOT and a Big setback to the MLAs and "MLA Hostel Builder Mafia".
SHIMLA: The Kamla Nehru Hospital patients, staff and local citizens today got a breather from what they call a “mindless and forced shifting” on Wednesday after the Himachal Pradesh High Court put an interim stay on the Sukhu government’s move to shift the gynaecology department and OPD to Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital.
In what is being seen as a major setback to the government led by Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and a huge relief for Shimla residents, the division bench headed by Chief Justice G. S. Sandhawalia stayed the ongoing proceedings initiated by the state government over the controversial shifting plan.
The petition was filed by Janwadi Mahila Samiti president Falma Chauhan and others, who challenged the move to dismantle one of Himachal Pradesh’s oldest and most emotionally connected mother-and-child healthcare institutions.
The petitioners argued that the shifting would cripple healthcare access for pregnant women, newborn babies and patients coming from remote hill districts.
For over a century, Kamla Nehru Hospital has stood as a lifeline for mothers and infants in the state capital.
Citizens, doctors, staff members, shopkeepers and local businessmen had joined hands in protest, warning that shifting the services to the already overburdened IGMC campus would turn healthcare into chaos.
The High Court sought answers from the state government on the entire process undertaken so far and stayed further action till the next hearing.
The bench observed the matter required serious consideration before any irreversible step was taken.
The interim order has triggered celebrations among protesters who have been agitating for weeks to save the heritage institution.
Many described the court intervention as “the first real victory of citizens against bureaucratic bulldozing.”
The controversy has also exposed uneasy political silence. Even the opposition leader Jairam Thakur including Bharatiya Janata Party has largely avoided taking a clear public stand on the issue.
Political murmurs in Shimla suggest that leaders cutting across party lines, including some influential MLAs and even sections linked to former power centres, are allegedly not unhappy with the proposed shifting as it could potentially open prime space around the hospital area for MLA luxury mansions.
Though no official confirmation exists, such whispers have intensified public distrust over the government’s intentions.
The court’s intervention now places the Sukhu government on the defensive over a move many citizens describe as insensitive, ill-planned and disconnected from ground realities.
The interim stay granted by the Himachal Pradesh High Court has not only halted the controversial shifting of the gynaecology department from Kamla Nehru Hospital to Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, but has also revived memories of a century-old institution deeply embedded in the history of Shimla and Himachal Pradesh.
Established in 1923 during the British era as Lady Reading Hospital, the institution later came to be known as Kamla Nehru Hospital and gradually evolved into the state’s most trusted mother-and-child healthcare centre.
For generations of Himachali families, the hospital has been more than a medical institution — it has been the birthplace of countless children and a symbol of care for women from remote mountain regions.
The Virbhadra Singh Government had allocated Rs 60 Crore for the construction of phase 1 which was complete and phase II design and drawings are ready. But all seemed to be halted by the present Government, revealed insiders.
Perched on the historic ridge overlooking Shimla town, the heritage hospital has served mothers and newborns for over 102 years.
In 2006, it was upgraded into a dedicated state-level Mother and Child Hospital, further strengthening its role as a referral centre for complicated pregnancies and neonatal care from across Himachal Pradesh.
Over the decades, the institution witnessed the changing face of healthcare in the hill state — from colonial-era wards to modern maternity services — while retaining its emotional connection with ordinary people.
Thousands of women from tribal belts, remote valleys and rural districts have depended on the hospital for safe childbirth and specialised treatment.
The present move to shift the gynaecology OPD and key services to IGMC triggered widespread anger among citizens, doctors, staff members and civil society groups, who argued that dismantling the institution would not only overburden the already congested IGMC campus but would also erase a critical healthcare legacy from the heart of Shimla.
The High Court’s intervention is now being viewed as a temporary shield protecting one of Himachal Pradesh’s oldest public healthcare institutions from what many residents describe as an ill-conceived administrative exercise carried out without wider public consultation.
For the expectant mothers, newborn babies, hospital staff and ordinary Shimla residents, the stay order has come as a rare moment of hope in a battle to protect not just a hospital, but a century-old public institution woven deeply into the city’s history and emotions.
RESPONSES:
1. Excellent decision by High Court of Himachal.
Almighty gives these politicians some common sense.
These politicians can do anything for themselves
-Dr MANOJ THAKUR, FORMER, HOD ORTHOPEDICS IGMC SHIMLA.
2 . My view on this has turned out be right:
"Complete failure of the system of governance
Which delegates function based on trust of the people to private players
It is not an arduous or uphill task to conduct such an examination but the faith & trust of the innocent students in the system must be responded by the system based upon transparency run by the persons, of impeccable character & integrity I put it by saying,saints who had a past and not by the sinners
I think this is the right time for judicial intervention even in conducting such examination as the law is king of kings".
-PREM PAL RANTA, FORMER DISTRICT AND SESSIONS JUDGE, HIMACHAL PRADESH
