Hospital shuts its doors on non-Parsis

Maharashtra authorities issue notice

The Maharashtra Charity Commissioner has directed his staff to issue a show cause notice to the B.D. Petit Parsee General Hospital in south Mumbai for not treating ‘non-Parsi’ patients under schemes meant for the poor.

While the Parsi community is known to have contributed vastly to charity that has benefited people from all religions or castes, the 105-year-old hospital is one of the few charities of the community that has been ‘Parsis only’ since its inception.

Charity Commissioner Shivkumar Dige, however, has cited Section 41AA of the Maharashtra Public Trust Act, 1950, which empowers him to issue directions with respect to earmarking of beds and offering treatment to poor patients for free or concessional rates.

“This Section [41AA] provides that treatment by charitable hospitals should be offered to the poor irrespective of religion, caste, gender, etc.,” Mr. Dige told

The Hindu , adding that the hospital can very well apply its ‘Parsi only’ rule otherwise.