NHRC takes suo motu cognizance of newborn's death after failing to get ventilator across three Haryana hospitals

📌 Summary:

• NHRC has taken suo motu cognizance of a newborn's death after the child could not get ventilator support for nearly 24 hours across hospitals in Hisar and Rohtak, Haryana
• The infant, born via caesarean at Hisar Civil Hospital on 1 July 2026, needed immediate ventilator support
• The baby was referred from Civil Hospital Hisar to Medical College Agroha, then to PGIMS Rohtak, and finally to a private hospital where he was declared dead — no ventilator was available at the referral facilities
• NHRC observed the reports, if true, raise serious human rights violations and issued notice to the Chief Secretary, Government of Haryana, seeking a detailed report within two weeks

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 Governance / health — highlights gaps in public health infrastructure (critical-care/ventilator availability, referral systems) and the role of NHRC in enforcing the right to health as part of Article 21.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• NHRC is a statutory body established under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993
• NHRC can take suo motu cognizance of human rights violations
• NHRC issues notices/recommendations but its recommendations are advisory in nature

🔑 Key Term: Suo motu cognizance — a body's power to take up a matter on its own initiative, without a formal complaint.