The Madras High Court has upheld the constitutional right of the State government to issue executive orders with respect to management of even private old age/retirement homes. It has ordered that the government must ensure registration of every such home and periodical collection of details regarding the inmates, as well as the management.
Justices R. Mahadevan and J. Sathya Narayana Prasad issued a set of guidelines to the government and said the latter should monitor day-to-day functioning of the homes with focus on nutrition, hygiene, medical needs of inmates, food, round-the-clock security, clean drinking water, ambulance services, entertainment, religious activities and so on.
Making it clear that all old age/retirement homes in the State must be inspected to identify the deficiencies and get them rectified by the management, the judges said non-rectification of the deficiencies must entail civil consequences, including the cancellation of the registration of the particular home with the State government.
