Right to trauma care of citizens integral part of right to life: Supreme Court

Observing that right to trauma care of citizens is an integral part of right to life, the Supreme Court has asked all States and Union territories to operationalise within three months one helpline number ‘112’ for emergency responses and establish a functional good samaritan grievance redressal system.

A Bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and A.S. Chandurkar also directed the States to furnish periodic compliance reports by organising monthly meetings and uploading the minutes on the concerned portals.

The Bench passed the order on Tuesday (May 26, 2026) on a plea filed by the Savelife Foundation, which raised the need for trauma care to be recognised as a matter of right in the Indian public law system.