Suppose there's a hospital run by any trust. It gives free medicines to patients belonging to a particular religion and other patients have to pay for their medicines.
However, India is a secular country with the right to protection against discrimination based on religion.
Is this legal?
If yes then what are the circumstances under which this is legal with respect to the nature of the trust, religion (minority or majority), type of the service provided, etc
Article 15 of the Indian Constitution states that "The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex or any of them", thus a government hospital could not discriminate based on religion. There are also specific statutory non-discrimination mandates such as The Equal Remuneration Act 1976, The Maternity Benefit Act 1961, The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016, primarily addressing matters of employment. The HIV/AIDS (Prevention and Control) Act prohibits discrimination based on HIV/AIDS status in the realm of employment, service accommodations, property rentals, and insurance. But India does not have a comprehensive law that outlaws discrimination on religious grounds that applies to private parties. The protection offered by law is solely protection against the government.
