HC nod to Delhi govt panel over O2 deaths
THE COURT SAID IT DOES NOT SEE ANY DIFFICULTY IN THE CONSTITUTION OF THE PANEL WHICH WILL RECOMMEND A COMPENSATION AMOUNT
NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Tuesday overruled the objections of the Lieutenant Governor (LG) against the constitution of a high powered committee (HPC) by the Delhi government to ascertain causes of death, including those due to alleged shortage of oxygen, during the brutal national second wave of Covid-19 in April-may this year.
A bench of justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh said that it does not see any difficulty in the constitution of the committee, which, besides finding the reasons for the death, will recommend the compensation amount for the families of those deceased.
The court said that the committee will pass a reasoned order without importing the liability on the hospital, and specified that the HPC will be permitted to go ahead if the Delhi government clarifies that any compensation will be paid and absorbed by it alone.
NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Tuesday overruled the objections of the Lieutenant Governor (LG) against the constitution of a high powered committee (HPC) by the Delhi government to ascertain causes of death, including those due to alleged shortage of oxygen, during the brutal national second wave of Covid in April-may this year.
A bench of justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh said that it does not see any difficulty in the constitution of the committee, which, besides finding the reasons for the death, will recommend the compensation amount for the families of those deceased.
The court said that the committee will pass a reasoned order without importing the liability on the hospital, and specified that the HPC will be permitted to go ahead if the Delhi government clarifies that any compensation will be paid and absorbed by it alone.
“The issue here is a legal issue. Can you determine a fault-based liability by a committee (and) fix liability on a third party, which not only puts financial liability but tarnishes professional reputation?” the court said. “...you say you will fix liability, you are entering into the domain of judiciary and medical council. You can’t do it.” The bench said that HPC will not overlap with the areas already being looked into by the subcommittees constituted by the court.
“[The] Supreme Court [order] is on logistics and not specifics... We take it that there should be over overlap,” according to the court.
The ruling came on a plea by Riti Singh Verma, who sought that all Covid-19 deaths be probed by the expert committee after her 34-year-old husband died of Covid-19 at the Jaipur Golden Hospital in Rohini, on May 14 during the second wave.
The Delhi government on Tuesday said, “We respect the court’s direction and are grateful for the same...”
On May 27, the Delhi government constituted a committee to probe the causes of death during the second wave and grant ex-gratia payments to the victims. However, the LG had put it in abeyance on June 8, saying that the matter was pending before the Supreme Court and that the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was yet to come out with uniform compensation guidelines.