Why is govt resisting court monitoring of testing in city: HC

nNEWDELHI: The Delhi high court on Tuesday said it did not understand the reason for the Delhi government’s “resistance” to the courts monitoring from time to time the ramping up of Covid-19 testing in the city.

The remark came after the Delhi government told the court that issues raised (by other pleas) have already been addressed and adequate steps have been taken to manage health care and other services in the national capital.

A bench of justice Hima Kohli and justice Subramonium Prasad, while hearing a plea filed through advocate Rakesh Malhotra seeking to increase Covid-19 testing in the city, was told by the Delhi government counsel that last week, another bench of the Delhi high court had disposed of a similar plea during which the court had noted that adequate steps have been taken by the government to fight the pandemic.

While a Delhi government spokesperson refused a comment the government counsel Satyakam raised questions on the maintainability of the application and said the petitioner should have filed a separate petition rather than filing an application in an already disposed of matter.

He said such applications can be filed only for making corrections/modifications in the order but not for raising fresh concerns and hence the matter should not be heard any further.

However, the court said the earlier pleas, which were decided by the other benches, were concerned with the treatment, availability of beds, personal protective equipment kits, ambulances and denial of treatment to patients. “The resistance faced from the Delhi government in monitoring the matter .... is not understood. The stand of the government on the maintainability is also not valid,” the court said.

During the hearing, the Delhi government, in a status report, told the court that its mandate is to ramp up testing.