Ahmedabad: Gujarat High Court has decided to give priority to cases filed by people with HIV/AIDS and fast-track it. The direction regarding this was issued by the acting Chief Justice to the court registry.According to an HC circular, any person infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) or suffering from Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), whose matter is pending before HC, may seek early hearing by approaching designated court officers.HC has deputed two additional registrars to attend to this issue. A litigant is required to produce an HIV-positive report from a govt-approved laboratory, valid identity proof, and all relevant case papers to support the request for priority hearing and early disposal.High Court’s decision to expedite the disposal of cases involving these litigants came in the wake of a Supreme Court order, by which the apex court issued related instructions for expeditious disposal of cases involving people with HIV/AIDS.There are several cases filed by people with HIV pending in HC. In one such case, a CRPF jawan was seeking action against his superior officer for disclosing his medical condition before others by mentioning it in a WhatsApp group. His petition has been pending for two years.In another such case, a woman officer in the CRPF was seeking court directions to her superior authorities not to discriminate against her on the basis of her HIV status and accord her the promotion due to her.
