Deaths due to O2 shortage ‘not less than genocide’: Allahabad HC

PRAYAGRAJ: The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday expressed concern over the death of covid patients due to shortage of oxygen supply in Uttar Pradesh. The court stated that authorities responsible for procurement and supply of the gas were committing criminal acts and ‘not less than a genocide’.

“We are at pain in observing that death of Covid patients just for non-supply of oxygen to hospitals is a criminal act and not less than a genocide by those who have been entrusted with the task to ensure continuous procurement and supply chain of the liquid medical oxygen,” observed the bench.

The bench comprising justice Siddhartha Varma and justice Ajit Kumar passed the order in a suo motu PIL on the condition of quarantine centres in the state.

The court also directed the State Election Commission to produce CCTV footage of the counting of votes related to panchayat polls relating to Lucknow, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Gautambuddh Nagar and Agra by the next date fixed.

The beach also took notice of death of a sitting judge of high court due to Covid-19 and observed, “We have been informed that late Justice V.K. Srivastava was admitted initially in the morning of 23rd April, 2021 in Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Lucknow but he was not taken care of till evening and it was only around 7:30 pm when his condition deteriorated, he was placed on ventilator. It was in the same night he was shifted to Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, where

was in

ICU for five days and ultimately succumbed to the Covid19 infection.”

The court directed the state government counsel to file an affidavit bringing on record the treatment given to late Justice VK Srivastava at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and also explain why he was not taken immediately to Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, on April 23 morning.

The district magistrate of Lucknow and Meerut were directed to inquire into the matter of deaths of patients due to shortage of oxygen supply in their district within 48 hours and submit their reports on the next date fixed respectively.