SC to hear plea on treatment of patients

NEWDELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday registered a suo motu (on its own) case regarding the issues surrounding the treatment of Covid-19 patients and handling of dead bodies of Covid-19 victims in hospitals.

Chief Justice of India (CJI), SA Bobde, took cognizance of the issue and assigned it to a threejudge bench of justices Ashok Bhushan, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and MR Shah that will hear the case on Friday.

Former Union law minister Ashwini Kumar had written to the CJI on June 8 highlighting the undesirable manner in which patients and dead bodies were being handled. Kumar pointed out a news report of a Covid-19 patient being chained to a bed in a hospital in Madhya Pradesh. He also drew the attention of the CJI to an incident from Puducherry where a dead body was being thrown into a pit for burial. Right to die with dignity is a fundamental right and it includes the right to a decent burial or cremation, Kumar had said in his letter.

This would be the third case which the top court would be hearing suo-motu in relation to issues stemming out of Covid-19.

The same three-judge bench headed by justice Ashok Bhushan is hearing the case regarding the plight of migrant workers and passed orders to facilitate their return.

Another three-judge bench on Thursday took suo-motu notice of the of spread of Covid-19 among 35 children in a government-run child care home in Tamil Nadu and ordered the health secretary to prepare a report on the incident and submit before Monday next week.