Supreme Court: Moots Dedicated Corpus Fund for Spinal Muscular Atrophy Treatment

The Supreme Court on Thursday called for a comprehensive proposal to establish a dedicated corpus fund aimed at providing financial assistance and systematic treatment to patients suffering from Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a rare and debilitating genetic disorder.A Bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana stressed that individual charity and ad-hoc government grants are insufficient, and there is a pressing need for a permanent, regularised channel to finance life-saving therapies."Depending on individual circumstances, corporate social responsibility (CSR) contributions may come forward, or the government may release grants. But what we need is a regular channel, a permanent system. There should be a mechanism for automatic contributions and a regular fund that is maintained," the CJI observed.The Court further underscored that any such mechanism must prioritise the optimum utilisation of resources on a strictly non-profit basis to ensure direct patient support.The top court was hearing suo motu proceedings initiated by it to address the lack of adequate, systematic, and affordable healthcare infrastructure for SMA patients, who often require treatments running into crores of rupees.Justice Joymalya Bagchi, CJI Surya Kant and Justice V MohanaDuring the hearing, the Bench called upon Senior Advocate and Amicus Curiae Aparajita Singh to submit a comprehensive proposal exploring avenues to generate and sustain the co