The West Bengal State Consumer Commission recently issued a strong ruling against deceptive billing and the arbitrary denial of state health card benefits to patients.
The complainant was admitted for COVID-19 treatment in May 2021. Despite the discharge certificate officially documenting a stay in a general ward, the hospital issued a final bill of Rs. 2 lakhs, charging for an ICCU bed. The hospital also refused to honour the patient’s valid Swasthya Sathi Card, forcing cash payment.
Rejecting the hospital’s defence of an “inadvertent clerical error” and pandemic-era ward conversions, the Court held that levying ICCU charges for general ward occupancy constitutes fraudulent, manipulative billing and an “unfair trade practice” under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
Furthermore, drawing on the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in IMA v. V.P. Shantha, the Court reaffirmed that state-sponsored healthcare schemes establish a legal consumer service provider relationship. Refusing treatment under a valid scheme card constitutes an actionable “deficiency in service”.
The hospital was directed to refund Rs. 2 lakhs, along with Rs. 50,000 in compensation and Rs. 25,000 in litigation costs.
This judgment delivers two important mandates for hospitals.
First, the financial aspects of patient care must be transparent and accurate. Invoices that do not match treatment records and discharge summaries are the most common mistake. Such inconsistencies are treated as misrepresentation rather than mere clerical slips.
Second, institutions empanelled under government health schemes cannot turn away eligible patients without exposing themselves to severe legal penalties for deficiency of service.
Source: Order passed by the West Bengal State Consumer Commission on 25 August 2026 in Anindya Chakraborty v/s Ispat Cooperative Hospital & Ors.