The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rishikesh, has been directed to pay Rs 60,000 to a man for wrongly declaring him HIV-positive by the Uttarakhand State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission, as it upheld an order of a district commissionOf the total amount, Rs 50,000 constitutes compensation for mental agony and harassment, and Rs 10,000 toward litigation expenses.
Published: August 22, 2026, 4:41 PM IST
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New Delhi: The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rishikesh, has been directed to pay Rs 60,000 to a man for wrongly declaring him HIV-positive by the Uttarakhand State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission, as it upheld an order of a district commissionOf the total amount, Rs 50,000 constitutes compensation for mental agony and harassment, and Rs 10,000 toward litigation expenses.
Commission Dismisses AIIMS’s Appeal
The Uttarakhand State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission dismissed the appeal put forward by AIIMS Rishikesh against a 2019 order of the Haridwar District Consumer Commission directing it to pay compensation to a patient after recording the patient as HIV-positive without supporting clinical evidence.
In the order dated August 17, Commission President Kumkum Rani and member C.MSingh said that the ‘human immunodeficiency virus’ (HIV) is a sensitive medical condition and an unverified diagnosis can have serious consequences for an individual.
“HIV is a serious medical condition, and its diagnosis requires utmost caution and strict adherence to standard protocols,” the commission observed.
According to the reports, the case dates back to July 2014, when the patient was admitted to AIIMS Rishikesh after being referred from another medical facility, where, during treatment, ‘HIV-positive’ was allegedly mentioned repeatedly in the patient’s medical records, including the discharge summary.
Fresh Tests Confirmed HIV-negative
The patient later underwent tests at Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Medical and Health Sciences and Shri Mahant Indiresh Hospital in DehradunBoth reports found the patient HIV-negative and were submitted before the consumer commission.
AIIMS argued that it did not have an Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre (ICTC) at the time and had neither conducted an HIV test nor officially declared the patient HIV-positive.
What Did The Commission Say
Meanwhile, the state commission said that AIIMS’s own records contradicted this claimIt noted that the discharge summary and treatment records repeatedly described the patient as HIV-positiveStill, the institute failed to show that the diagnosis was based on a valid test.
“Recording a person as HIV-positive in official medical records without supporting clinical evidence amounts to serious negligence,” the commission said.
It added that such an unverified diagnosis could cause mental suffering, emotional distress and social stigma, besides undermining trust in medical institutions.
Finding no reason to interfere with the district commission’s order, the state commission dismissed AIIMS Rishikesh’s appeal and upheld the compensation awarded to the patient.
