Judge, Delhi governmet lock horns over Rs 28,000 acupuncture bill
Additional sessions judge (ASJ) Ashwani Kumar Sarpal, currently posted at the Family Court, Shahdara, has now filed an appeal against a decision given by justice Vibhu Bhakru, rejecting his plea for reimbursement of his medical expenses.
A judicial officer posted in a Delhi court is fighting a legal battle against the Delhi government over a sum of Rs 28,000, the amount he spent on acupuncture treatment for his migraine. The Delhi government has cited rules to refuse reimbursement to him.
Additional sessions judge (ASJ) Ashwani Kumar Sarpal, currently posted at the Family Court, Shahdara, has now filed an appeal against a decision given by justice Vibhu Bhakru, rejecting his plea for reimbursement of his medical expenses.
In his plea filed through advocate Abhinav Garg, the ASJ has said he has been suffering from chronic Trigeminal Neuralgia and migraine for the last six years, for which he had been taking allopathic medicines and was also being treated at private hospitals. The problem, however, was not cured despite taking painkillers daily. While migrane has no permanent solution, Trigeminal Neuralgia can be treated through surgery.
But since surgery was risky for life, Sarpal did not opt for it.
Thereafter, he underwent acupuncture therapy at a Delhi Hospital, which yielded results and reduced his pain.
On January 1, the ASJ submitted the bill of Rs 28,000 reimbursement, which was rejected "because it was inadmissible as the hospital was not on the panel of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS)".
Following this, he filed a petition in the Delhi High Court, which was also rejected on the grounds that he had not "been deprived of or denied any medical treatment essential for good health".
Dismissing the earlier plea, justice Bhakru had stated that it was not the Delhi government's policy to provide reimbursement for acupuncture expenses, as it was an alternate system of healing.
Dissatisfied, the judicial officer has once again appealed against the order, claiming that acupuncture has been recognised as an alternative medication process and some government hospitals, such as the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
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Ashwani Kumar Sarpal suffers from chronic Trigeminal Neuralgia and migraine Surgery can treat Trigeminal Neuralgia