New Delhi: The Supreme Court today took note of the differences in COVID-19 testing charges in various states and asked the centre to fix an upper limit for these tests.
A bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, S K Kaul and M R Shah, which would pass the order later, observed during the hearing that there should be uniformity in COVID-19 testing charge in all states. “There should be uniformity in COVID-19 test fee. In some states it is Rs 2,200 and in some its Rs 4,500,” the court told the government. The bench indicated, however, that the court will not venture into the fixation of the charges which will be taken care of by the centre.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was representing the government, requested the court to let the states decide the cap on these tests. “Better to leave to states, some may be discussing even lower rates,” he said. The bench, however, turned down his request and said: “You fix upper limit. States will do rest”. Last month, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the government’s nodal body in this health crisis, had lifted the price cap of Rs 4,500 per test after the prices of testing kits had dropped.
The apex medical research body had also asked state and UT administrations to “fix up mutually agreeable prices” to test samples with private labs.
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