The Kerala High Court has taken notice of potential privacy risks faced by HIV-positive individuals when applying for benefits through Akshaya centres under the Chief Minister's Relief Fund (CMRF). During a recent hearing of a petition filed by an HIV patient, Justice Devan Ramachandran expressed concerns over the breach of confidentiality and urged the State government to take concrete steps to protect the privacy of HIV-positive applicants.
While a circular addressing related issues has been issued, the Court deemed it insufficient. The Court directed the Government Pleader to obtain specific instructions from the government on how to implement the circular (Ext.P1) in a manner that prevents any potential prejudice resulting from confidentiality breaches for the petitioner and others in similar situations.
Advocate Sandhya Raju, representing the petitioner, highlighted that HIV-infected individuals, often from lower-income backgrounds, are compelled to seek assistance from Akshaya centres to submit their applications and medical documents for CMRF benefits. She expressed concerns about the possible breach of confidentiality during this process.
Advocate Raju emphasized the State government's responsibility to instruct district collectors to establish protocols that safeguard against such breaches. Justice Ramachandran agreed that maintaining the confidentiality of information pertaining to individuals like the petitioner is of paramount importance and a constitutional guarantee. He stressed that both the State and district collectors are obligated to ensure confidentiality at every stage and must implement specific safeguards to achieve this.
Consequently, the High Court has directed the State government to take initiatives to protect the confidentiality of HIV-infected individuals. The government has been instructed to provide its response by September 29, and the matter will be further addressed on October 3.
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TAGS: Kerala High Court HIV patients privacy concerns Akshaya centres Chief Minister's Relief Fund confidentiality breach government response Justice Devan Ramachandran circular Advocate Sandhya Raju district collectors constitutional guarantee safeguards State government initiatives response deadline October 3 hearing.
