Court pulls up state for conflicting test reports

The Telangana High Court on Wednesday came down heavily on the state government for its contradictory statements on Covid testing and promising to test 50,000 people in 10 days when actually 30,000-odd tests have been carried out.

The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy also castigated the government for neglecting to abide by the directions issued by the court to tackle the pandemic and create more awareness among people about the seriousness of the disease. The court warned officials of the state government and GHMC to be ready to face severe consequences if the court’s orders were not properly followed.

“If the court’s orders are not followed by the government, the Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary of Medical and Health, Principal Secretary of Municipal Administration and Urban Development and GHMC Commissioner should appear before the court on July 21,” the HC said.

The court was dealing with a batch of PILs that accused the state government of formulating an inappropriate action plan to deal with the Covid-19 situation.

The court was extremely annoyed at the government’s non-compliance of its earlier orders. Reiterating that that it was the state’s foremost duty to protect people from pandemics and the same was enshrined in Article 21 and Duties of the State mentioned in Part IV of the Constitution, the bench observed that it was not issuing directions to show the authority of the Judiciary.

IF THE court’s orders are not followed, the chief secretary, principal secretary of medical and health and others must appear before the court on July 21 — TELANGANA HC

“We are most concerned with the prevailing situation in Telangana, where positive cases have reached around 1,000 per day and it is the duty of the government and authorities to take responsibility and build up the confidence in the people,” the court observed.

The bench directed the government to submit affidavits by superintendents of government hospitals giving details of what infrastructure they have to tackle Coronavirus, such as safety gear, number of PPE kits distributed to doctors and paramedic staff daily.

The court had asked for these details 45 days ago, but the government has not complied, the bench said.

Zeroing in on the contradictory statements made by senior officials of the government, Chief Justice Chauhan observed: “The Chief Secretary says that it is adhering to the ICMR guidelines, and on the other hand Dr G Srinivas Rao, Director of Public Health, says testing for corona has stopped due to lack of facilities to test. Why are contradictory statements made by the officials of the state machinery?”

The Chief Justice was particularly concerned about the testing.

“I am amazed at the attitude depicted by Dr Srinivas Rao, who on one hand says that the government will take up 50,000 tests in the coming 10 days, and as of today, only 30, 877 tests have been done, falling short of nearly 20,000 tests. Out of

33 districts, the Telangana government has tested persons in 12 districts; what about the other districts?" the CJ queried.

The court slammed the government for the vague reports it had filed before the court on the Covid-19 situation.