In Brief
The Ramakrishna Mission hospital in Itanagar sought review of a judgment making it amenable to writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution. The question was whether a private charitable hospital receiving partial State grants and operating on concessional State land constitutes a public authority. The Supreme Court held that it does not. A private body is amenable to writ jurisdiction only if it performs functions closely related to State sovereignty. Receipt of State funds, regulation by statute, or operation on concessional land does not render a private entity a statutory body or public authority. The hospital's contracts of service remain purely private law matters, not subject to writ jurisdiction. The Court distinguished prior precedent and held that voluntary charitable activities cannot be deemed public functions.
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