New Delhi, Jan 9 (IANS): The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognisance of an incident from Karnataka, where a 72-year-old man committed suicide on December 25 after a public hospital in Bengaluru declined to provide him treatment under the Ayushman Bharat scheme.

As per a media report, the state-run Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology had denied him the benefit of Rs 5 lakh cover to the senior citizens under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) for which he had enrolled himself, stating that state government orders in this regard had not arrived yet.

Observing that the contents of the media report, if true, raised a serious issue of violation of human rights, the Commission said that a few more cases regarding the problems being faced by the beneficiaries of the AB PM-JAY scheme for senior citizens have also been mentioned in the news report.

Taking suo moto cognisance of the matter, the NHRC has issued notices to the Secretary of the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and the Chief Secretary of Karnataka and called for a detailed report on the matter within four weeks.

It said that the reports are expected to include the present status of the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) senior citizen scheme in Karnataka and other states and Union Territories.

The Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) senior citizen scheme has been framed with an aim to ensure good medical care for senior citizens, especially those who are not able to spend the hospital bills and cost of specialised treatment and medicines.

"If senior citizens are not getting the benefit of the scheme intended for their welfare, it may amount to a violation of their right to health, which is inherent to a life with dignity," the NHRC said.