CURRENT AFFAIRS | 29 MAY 2026
An Indian Express Page 1 investigation by Anand Mohan J reveals that 53 women died before, during, or after childbirth in Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh between April 2025 and March 2026. The average age of the deceased was 26; the youngest was 19. Sidhi’s Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) is approximately 211 per 100,000 live births — well above the Madhya Pradesh figure of 159 and the national MMR of 87. The district has one anaesthesiologist for its entire population, who is unavailable for night shifts. Thirteen women died in transit; sixteen deaths recorded anaemia as a contributing factor. The case is a direct, contemporary stress-test of India’s right-to-health jurisprudence under Article 21 and the constitutional obligations under Part IV.
Why This Goes Straight to the Constitution
The Supreme Court and High Courts have repeatedly held that the right to life under Article 21 includes the right to health and the right to dignified medical care — particularly where the State runs the only available healthcare system. Sidhi is in the tribal Bundelkhand belt; many of the dead women were from Scheduled Tribes, drawing in Fifth Schedule protections as well. The maternal-health entitlements come from a stack of NHM schemes — JSY (2005), JSSK (2011), Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN), 2019 — the denial of which has been held by the Delhi High Court in Laxmi Mandal to violate Articles 14, 15(3) and 21.
Constitutional & Legal Framework
- Article 21 — right to life and personal liberty (includes right to health)
- Article 39(e), 39(f), 42, 47 (DPSPs) — State’s duty to public health, maternity relief and nutrition
- Article 15(3) — special provisions for women and children
- Fifth Schedule — administration of Scheduled Areas (relevant to tribal Sidhi)
- Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samiti v State of WB, (1996) 4 SCC 37 — emergency medical care is integral to Article 21
- Laxmi Mandal v Deen Dayal Harinagar Hospital, Delhi HC 2010 — denial of maternal-health entitlements violates Articles 14, 15(3), 21
- Suchita Srivastava v Chandigarh Administration, (2009) 9 SCC 1 — reproductive autonomy under Article 21
- ICESCR Article 12 (ratified by India 1979) — right to the highest attainable standard of health
- SDG 3.1 — global MMR below 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030
- JSY (2005), JSSK (2011), SUMAN (2019) — flagship maternal-health schemes under NRHM/NHM
Why This Matters for CLAT 2027
Maternal-health PILs are a CLAT favourite because they let setters combine three doctrinal streams in one passage: (i) the right-to-health line from Paschim Banga and Murli S Deora; (ii) the DPSP-to-fundamental-right bridge (Articles 39, 42, 47 mobilised to expand Article 21); and (iii) the gendered-Article-21 strand (Laxmi Mandal, Suchita Srivastava). Aspirants should also be ready for an SDG-linked Current Affairs question — India’s MMR (87) versus the SDG-3.1 target (under 70 by 2030). The Fifth Schedule angle is the trickiest: tribal welfare obligations create heightened constitutional duty in scheduled areas, but this is rarely discussed in standard textbooks.
Key Facts (Quick Revision)
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Deaths recorded | 53 in Sidhi (April 2025–March 2026) |
| Average age | 26 years |
| Sidhi MMR | ~211 per 100,000 live births |
| MP MMR | 159 |
| India MMR (SRS 2019–21) | 87 |
| SDG 3.1 target | <70 by 2030 |
| Anaesthesiologists in district | One (no night shifts) |
| In-transit deaths | 13 |
CLAT Mnemonic — S-A-F-E
Sidhi MMR 211 · Anaesthesiologist single (no night cover) · Frequent maternal anaemia · Essential health staff missing.
Test Yourself: 10-Question Quiz
The quiz tests the Paschim Banga & Laxmi Mandal precedents, Article 47 of the DPSPs, JSY and JSSK timelines, the SDG 3.1 MMR target, and India’s obligations under ICESCR Article 12.
Practice Quiz — 10 CLAT-Style Questions
Click an option to reveal the answer and explanation.
Further Reading
- Read Laxmi Mandal v Deen Dayal Harinagar Hospital — the gold-standard Indian maternal-health judgment.
- Compare SDG 3.1 progress across States using SRS bulletins.
- Note the Fifth Schedule overlay on tribal-district health governance.
