In a relief to Sir Ganga Ram hospital, the Delhi High Court today quashed the Centre's decision withdrawing its certificate granting exemption from payment of customs duty on the ground that it failed to fulfil the requisite criteria to become a charitable hospital.

Putting an end to the 12-year-old legal battle between the Directorate General of Health Services under Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the hospital, Justice S Muralidhar said "the impugned order dated August 28, 2008, of DGHS, reiterating the earlier decision of March 16, 2001, withdrawing the CDECs issued to the petitioner is hereby set aside".

On January 17, the DGHS had carried out a surprise inspection of the hospital and found "discrepancies".

According to the inspection report the hospital has failed to fulfil the requisite criteria, including the number of free beds for the poor patients, to be treated as a charitable hospital. The hospital was running a paid OPD facility for which no records had been kept.

Although the consultation provided was free, the claim of the hospital that it had given free treatment to 40% of its OPD patients was not correct.