‘You’re not taking action’: Court pulls up Delhi govt
NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Tuesday said its confidence in the Delhi government was “shaken”, and that it may ask the Centre to intervene if they are unable to efficiently manage supplies of oxygen and other essential resources amid the second Covid-19 wave. It also said that the families of those who died in the city hospitals due to shortage of oxygen must be compensated, and directed the government to submit a complete list of the victims.
“Set your (Delhi government) house in order... enough is enough. If you (Delhi government) cannot manage then tell us, we will ask the Centre to send its officers. We will ask them to take over,” a bench of justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli told senior advocate Rahul Mehra, who represented the Delhi government.
The bench was incensed by the Delhi government’s inability to curb black-marketing and hoarding of oxygen cylinders and medicines in the city after complaints from various hospitals that they were not getting oxygen from refillers and that the government was not helping them.
They contended that the Delhi government was supplying oxygen to refillers without any direction or accountability.
On its part, the Delhi government expressed helplessness, saying the refillers were not giving them details of their supplies to the hospitals and nursing homes.
Anguished at this, the bench told the government: “There is an artificial shortage of oxygen.
Your management of the oxygen cylinder distribution is nothing but a ‘lollipop’. This cylinder business is a mess. You have to look into it and put your house in order. Your system has failed. Black-marketing of oxygen still continues. How are people procuring oxygen? Large-scale hoarding is going, and you are not taking action,” the court told the Delhi government.
It also directed the Delhi government to take over the plant of a city-based oxygen refiller, Seth Air Product, which apparently withheld 20 metric tonne of oxygen without supplying it to several hospitals, including Maharaja Agrasen and Venkateshwara.
Seth Air’s representative Tarun Seth sought to defend the firm, saying the Delhi government had not given any direction on the supply of cylinders.
But the bench retorted: “We will take you in custody... People are dying and you are making profit even at such time. This is not the time to become vultures. If any person dies for shortage of oxygen, we will hang you.”
Issuing contempt notices to five refillers for not appearing before the court on Wednesday, the bench remarked: “If they are belligerent, then they will see our belligerence. We will keep them in custody if they are playing with people’s life like this...”
“We will not countenance such actions. We make it clear that if any of the refillers do not provide the requisite data then strict action would not be taken not only by Delhi government but also this court,” the bench said.
During the proceedings, the court was also informed by S Bankata, a doctor at Batra Super Speciality Hospital, that they lost 21 patients between Saturday and Sunday due to shortage of oxygen. Last week, Jaipur Golden Hospital said that it lost over 20 lives due to shortage of oxygen.
At this, the court ordered: “We direct the Delhi government to file a report after taking enquiries into deaths from the hospitals and nursing homes which have taken place due to the shortage of oxygen. The report should have the name of the patient, the ward/ room, time of death in a tabular form.”
“We have to compensate these persons. It is the responsibility of the State,” said the bench, asking for all details in four days.
The court was hearing a plea by lawyer-petitioner Rakesh Malhotra, who, along with several hospitals, sought directions to the Centre and the Delhi government for better facilities and the continuous supply of oxygen in hospitals and nursing in the city.
Set your (Delhi government) house in order... enough is enough. If you (Delhi government) cannot manage then tell us, we will ask the Centre to send its officers. We will ask them to take over.