Kriti Agrawal
The Delhi High Court chastised the Centre on Monday for failing to fulfil the commitment regarding the supply of 700MT per day liquid medical oxygen to the Delhi Government in accordance with the Supreme Court’s directions.
A division Bench of Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Rekha Palli has ordered the presence of Central Government officers Sumita Dawra and Piyush Goyal, who handle oxygen allocation to states, tomorrow to justify the Delhi Government’s failure to comply with the High Court and Supreme Court’s order to supply the requisite oxygen to vital COVID patients.
In an order issued on April 30, the Supreme Court ordered the Central Government to address the NCT of Delhi’s oxygen deficit by May 3 at midnight.
The directive was issued based on the Solicitor General’s guarantee that Delhi’s oxygen needs would be met.
In an emergency sitting on Saturday, May 1, the Delhi High Court issued a similar order.
During the hearing, Senior Advocate Rahul Mehra, appearing on behalf of the GNCTD, informed the Bench that the Centre must deal with not only the problem of oxygen supply, but also the tankers.
The Bench stated that it was the duty of the Centre to have 700 MT of oxygen supply and that failure to do so would result in contempt charges.
As a result, Senior Advocate Rajshekhar Rao, an amicus curia, raised questions about the distribution of oxygen supplies and other related issues.
During the hearing, the Bench challenged the Centre on its compliance with the 700 MT oxygen requirement for Delhi. ASG Sharma, though agreeing that it is important, stated that he currently has no guidance on the subject. He also told the Court that the Centre would file a report on the matter in the Supreme Court.
Moreover, remarking “Do you spend your days in ivory towers? Where do you call home?” On the topic of drugs, Senior Advocate Venugopal argued that steroids, though the only proven drug to function, must be used only with a prescription and that Remdesivir does not minimize mortality.
At this stage, the Bench suggested that a mobile app be created where people could upload information and a pool of doctors could provide consultations to covid patients.