HC QUESTIONS CLEAN CHIT TO POLITICIANS
The Delhi high court on Monday said that political parties cannot make the ongoing Covid pandemic a “selling point” and that they have no business buying medicines and hoarding them while also slamming the city police for their shoddy probe into allegations that politicians were hoarding Covid medicines and oxygen cylinders.
The court’s observations came after the Delhi Police gave a clean chit to nine politicians, including Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Gautam Gambhir, Indian Youth Congress president (IYC) BV Srinivas and Dilip Pandey of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) who faced allegations of hoarding of oxygen cylinders and essential medicines.
NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Monday said that political parties cannot make the ongoing Covid pandemic a “selling point” and that they have no business buying medicines and hoarding them to earn some goodwill while also slamming the city police for their shoddy probe into allegations against politicians from different parties that they were hoarding Covid medicines and oxygen cylinders.
A bench of justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh also said that political leaders are expected to surrender their stocks to the Director General of Health Services (DGHS), Delhi government, for use by the poor and needy persons at government hospitals. “Since it is being projected that the medicines are held for public charity, we expect that as responsible citizens, people (political leaders) will not procure these medicines for political gains,” the bench said.
The court’s observations and directions came after the Delhi Police submitted its preliminary investigation report in which it had given a clean chit to nine politicians, including BJP MP Gautam Gambhir, Indian Youth Congress (IYC) president BV Srinivas and Dilip Pandey of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) who faced allegations of hoarding of oxygen cylinders and essential medicines.
On May 7, the court directed the police to carry out an investigation in the alleged hoarding of oxygen cylinders even as it refused a CBI probe, on a plea by Deepak Singh, who runs an NGO, Hrudya Foundation.
Reacting to the clean chit to the accused by the police, justice Sanghi said, “We are not accepting this position….this is completely unacceptable. Political parties cannot make this pandemic a selling point. How could they purchase it without prescription? You have to act with responsibility. They have no
business buying medicines and hoarding them to earn some goodwill. Now it seems that you are not interested in getting out the truth.”
Expressing dissatisfaction over the police investigation, the court directed the city police to go into specifics of the case.
“You had to go into specific allegations. If some political leader is advertising some medicine
free of cost, where is he getting it from? There are reports of shortages in supply. Does he hold a licence to hoard and distribute? How can you be so slack about it?” the court remarked.
“Just because some political figures are involved, this is no reason to not investigate. Your force should stand up, you have a duty towards the people. You have to understand this. People all over are suffering,” the court said, asking the police if they realise how many people have died due to lack of medicines, which, allegedly, were being hoarded by some people.
Advocate Virag Gupta, appearing for the petitioner, said that no action has been taken against any of the politicians and cited the example of Gambhir who had distributed Fabiflu tablets. Fabiflu is an anti-viral drug which is used to manage the symptoms of Covid-19.
During Monday’s hearing, advocate Sanjay Lao, standing counsel of the Delhi government (criminal), for the Delhi police, sought further time from the court to complete the investigation. Highlighting BJP MP Gambhir’s reply to the police, Lao said that the lawmaker procured the medicine through his foundation which is attached to the Garg Hospital in east Delhi’s AGCR Enclave. Citing Gambhir’s reply, the lawyer said the medicines were procured by a doctor of the hospital.
Justice Sanghi intervened saying, it was prima facie difficult to believe that a doctor was getting the medicines in bulk when there was an overall shortage in the market and people were paying high price for the drug.
“We find it difficult prima facie to believe… How can a chemist give it to a doctor? It’s not the monetary factor. It’s not about seizure. If a case is made out, you can seize. We will not direct seizure as it’s a legal exercise. We are appealing in good sense and as good Samaritans that this should not go and they should go and surrender it with the DGHS,” the bench said.
The court further directed the Delhi Police to conduct a “proper investigation” in the matter and do the needful if a case is made out to register an First information Report (FIR). It asked the police to file a status report showing how medicines were procured in “such large numbers by a few persons”.
The matter will now be heard on May 24.