Right to Health which is the Real Wealth: A Synoptic View

The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us a lot. Amidst all the social distancing, hand washing, and lockdown, you may have realized and understood that the greatest three magic words are probably “Health is Wealth”. Without good health, you cannot move forward. It is like dragging a car forward without fuel. The right to health is considered a basic need of human beings as it is intrinsically connected with the concept of the right to life. Without a good quality of health of the people, the development of a nation cannot be achieved. Hence, health should be considered a basic indicator of development or freedom. Despite the several decisions of the Supreme Court whereby the right to health has been recognized as a fundamental right flowing from Article 21, no action has been taken by the Government to include the same within the Constitution. The paper proposes a brief study of the right to health within the Constitutional provisions and to examine the role of the judiciary in recognizing the right with a hypothesis that an explicit provision will be helpful in achieving the desired standard of health for people.