‘COMPLETE FAILURE OF STATE’: HC ON DELHI INFRA AS LAWYERS SEEK RELIEF

NEW DELHI: “It is a complete failure of the state”, the Delhi High Court said on Friday as a group of lawyers, including Bar Council of Delhi chairman Ramesh Gupta, pleaded for help seeking medical facilities to advocates suffering from Covid-19.

The hearing witnessed breakdown of lawyers, including senior advocate Gupta, who urged the judges to come to their rescue and help them as they were not getting medical treatment.

A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli said they understood the pain which lawyers were undergoing and termed the situation as a failure of the state.

“We understand your pain. We are going through the same. This surge of COVID has such a huge number...nobody could have imagined that this will attack us in this way... Finances are not the issue here. The problem is infrastructure.”

“The problem is we don’t have doctors, nurses, attendants, oxygen and medicines. It is a complete failure of the state,” the bench said, adding that, “its getting tougher for us”.

The court was hearing a petition seeking medical facilities for lawyers.

Gupta, representing the petitioner lawyer, submitted that a private hospital has agreed to give medical treatment to lawyers but it only has oxygen beds and not ICU beds and urged the court to attach them with a hospital which can provide them critical care in case of need.

He said they do not want money, they only want that in case of any emergency, medical help be provided to lawyers and they will collect more funds from their fellow advocates.

Gupta, who broke down while addressing the court, said, “We want my lords to come to our rescue. We do not want to criticise anyone or any government. We have ₹4-5 crore in our funds and will arrange more from lawyers. We only want my lords to help us. Sir kuch karo aap (Sir please do something).”