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All Deaths Must Be Reported Within 24 Hours: Patna High Court call for Affidavit On Bodies Found Floating In Ganga
The court has directed authorities to file an affidavit within two days due to dead bodies found floating in river Ganga. A Division Bench of justice S Karol and Justice S Kumar also issued several directions to the Bihar government regarding the management of the given situation within the state. The Court showed concern over the non-intimation of the number of recent deaths
"Any death, in the rural areas for lack of access to health facilities and medication, including testing will be counted as a violation of fundamental right." the order stated.
In this backdrop, the subsequent directions were issued to the State government:
- .The government hospitals go by the State and therefore the medical officers employed therein are duty-bound to increase medical help to save lots of human life.
- Registrations of death in rural areas: The Court directed all authorities to take all necessary steps for implementation of government policies, including immediate registration of deaths, more so in the rural areas of Bihar. All deaths must be reported within 24 hours.
- Centre should extend help regarding oxygen: The Court directed the Union Ministry of Health provides cylinders within subsequent four working days.
- The Commissioner of the Buxar and Kaimur districts are directed to submit affidavits regarding the disposal of the bodies found flowing in the river Ganga within two working days.
- Release oxygen seized from black marketeers: All concerned authorities are directed to need appropriate steps for the interim release of oxygen cylinders seized from black marketeers and hoarders, which are necessarily required for saving human life.
- Chief Secretary, Government of Bihar shall file a fresh affidavit: The Secretary has been directed to furnishing complete information during a format (tabular chart) prepared by all the learned counsel. The Court said that it should be positively done within subsequent four working days, failing which the Secretary shall be asked to hitch the proceedings.
- Fresh data be furnished: The Court has directed the authorities to submit fresh data regarding RT-PCR tests, positivity rate, deaths, the amount of Covid Care Centres (CCC), Dedicated Covid Health Centres (DCHC), Dedicated Health Centre (DHC), and personal hospitals in all of the districts.
On May 10, the court asked the government to shift focus from urban to rural as the situation demands. In its order, the Court also highlighted the role of public representatives in rural areas and said that they need to engage themselves at the grass-root level. The court also added that "it wouldn't hesitate to issue directions regarding their removal" if they fail to discharge their statutory duties.
Towards the top of its order, the Court also expressed its desire to possess a virtual tour of the government's room, a suggestion that was welcomed by Advocate General Lalit Kishore. The directions were passed during a petition filed by student Shivani Kaushik, who sought to spotlight the difficulty of disposal of biomedical waste generated from equipment used to treat COVID-19.
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