The Supreme Court on Tuesday, 3 July, granted bail to former principal of state-run BRD Medical College Dr Rajiv Misra, who was booked in connection with the death of nearly 60 children at the hospital in Gorakhpur last year.
Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra questioned the government lawyer on what grounds Dr Misra charged with culpable homicide. Representing Dr Misra, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi argued on the delay in giving him bail.
Dr Misra has been in jail for the last 10 months.
He is the fourth person to get bail in the Gorakhpur hospital tragedy after Manish Bhandari, the oxygen supplier to BRD Medical College, Dr Kafeel Khan and Dr Satish Kumar.
Five other accused are still in jail – including Dr Misra’s wife, Dr Purnima Shukla.
More than 60 children, mostly infants, died at the hospital within a week in August 2017. There were allegations that the deaths occurred due to disruption in oxygen supply. The BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government, however, had denied that shortage of oxygen led to the deaths.
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