A suo motu PIL was heard in the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court by a Division Bench consisting of Justice ZA Haq and Justice MA Borkar.
The applicant, an intervenor in the case, Dr. Mukesh Chandak stated that patients are facing difficulties due to the delay in receiving RT-PCR reports. RT-PCR test reports for COVID-19 are delayed by 4-5 days as the laboratories first upload the report on ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) website before handing it over to patients.
Amicus Curie SP Bhandarkar and Advocate Tushar suggested that the RT-PCR test reports should be sent on WhatsApp immediately irrespective of the results. These reports should not be with held due to the problems in uploading it on the website.
The Bench directed that the RT-PCR test reports should be sent immediately through WhatsApp, irrespective of the results of the test.It further stated that the reports of persons who test positive should be uploaded on the ICMR portal within 24 hours and reports of persons who test negative should be uploaded within a week.
The Court also stated that appropriate action would be taken against laboratories that fail to follow these directions.
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