Punjab & Haryana High Court: Illegible Prescriptions Violate Right to Health under Article 21

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that legible medical prescriptions and diagnoses are part of the fundamental right to health under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri directed doctors in Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh to write prescriptions in capital letters until computerised or typed formats are adopted. 

The Court asked the National Medical Commission to include training on legible prescriptions in medical curriculum and directed states to frame a policy for digital prescriptions within two years.

Illegible handwriting, the Court warned, creates ambiguity and can endanger patients’ health and right to informed consent.