Supreme Court stays action against hospitals over Kerala HC directives to display services, rates at reception

The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted a private hospitals association interim relief by directing that no coercive action be taken against them for now over their failure to comply with a Kerala High Court judgment on clear disclosure/ display of services offered and their rates [Kerala Private Hospitals Association And Anr. Versus State Of Kerala And Ors].

The High Court ruling under challenge included directives for hospitals to clearly display at the reception/admission desk and on their official website the list of services offered, baseline and package rates for commonly performed medical procedures.

A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta today sought the response of the Central and Kerala governments to an appeal filed against this ruling and posted the case for further hearing on February 3, 2026.

The Court also asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to assist the Court. It further impleaded the Union Health and Family Welfare department as an additional respondent in the matter.

On the question of interim relief, the Court said,

"An order dated 3.7.2025 has been placed before us according to which the respondents were directed not to take coercive steps against the members of the petitioner organisation. Counsel submits that members of the petitioner origination will apply for permanent registration. Coercive steps may not be taken till the next date. Members of the petitioner organisation will continue to get themselves registered under Section 19 of the Act. However, no coercive steps may be taken in the meantime. Interim order is till the next date fixed which is February 3."

Representing the private hospitals association, Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan today raised practical difficulties in implementing the High Court's ruling.

He urged the top court to stay any coercive action that may be taken against hospitals for not complying with the High Court's directives, while the appeal is pending.

"The reason why we have challenged (the High Court ruling) is that the prices vary hugely (depending on the medical condition). It could be a small fracture of a finger, could be a pre diabetic condition, etc. I will have to put out 10-15,000 different items. Our challenge is that my registration will be cancelled and then there’s prosecution, which will follow. The Division Bench says that privacy issues are not considered by us because it will be held by a public entity. The Kerala Act is stricter than the Central legislation. Coercive steps in the judgement may be stayed," Sankaranarayanan said.

Opposing the petitioner's plea, Advocate Siddharth R. Gupta on behalf of the private respondents, contended,

"The package rates refer to the baseline services. Baseline services you have to offer as package services. My lords may hear it. There are two judgements against them as of date. They are not allowing an Act to fructify. They have kept the Act on hiatus. They are not implementing it. It’s a watershed legislation."

The judgment under challenge was passed last month and sought to to ensure patient welfare and the effective implementation of the Kerala Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2018 (Act).

The High Court issued a slew of directives to ensure that there is disclosure of key facility information, including bed categories, availability of ICU/OT, imaging and laboratory facilities and ambulance/contact details.

The Court added that information about the fee chargeable for commonly carried out procedures must be clearly displayed in both Malayalam and English on the hospitals' website and/or the hospitals' reception area.

Non-compliance with these guidelines shall attract regulatory action under the Kerala Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2018, including suspension or cancellation of registration and imposition of penalties, in addition to any civil, criminal, or constitutional remedies available to patients, the Court had added.

It passed these directions while upholding the Constitutional validity of the key provisions of the Kerala Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2018 (Act).

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