The Supreme Court on Friday, 12 June, pulled up some state governments for their ‘poor’ handling of COVID-19 patients and bodies of the deceased.
A bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, S K Kaul and MR Shah, while calling out Delhi for mismanagement of patients in the national capital, said, “People are being treated worse than animals.”
Calling it “a deplorable state of affairs”, Justice MR Shah said that there is a need for more beds and better infrastructure.
'Situation in Delhi Horrendous'
According to an NDTV report, the bench termed situation in Delhi, "horrendous, horrific and pathetic".
The bench also questioned the Delhi government as to why the testing was reduced in the national capital.
“Tell us why testing numbers are reducing in Delhi,” Justice Kaul asked ASG Sanjay Jain appearing for Delhi, adding that only 5,077 people were tested in Delhi in June so far.
Speaking on the handling of dead bodies, the bench said that they have seen several reports of apathy in the media in Delhi and across the nation.
“Dead bodies are being treated like this, dead bodies are found in the garbage. Media has highlighted these deplorable conditions. People are being treated worse than animals,” Bench said, as quoted by Live Law.
Observing that the relatives are not even being informed after the death of a patient , as reported by the media, the court said that even patiens infected with COVID-19 are having to run “pillar to post” to get admission in hospital whereas various beds in government hospitals are lying vacant.
The apex court ordered that testing be increased in Delhi and other states.
“This clearly indicates a sorry state of affairs of care of COVID patients in Delhi and some other states,” the bench said.
The court issued notice to States of Delhi, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. and also to chief secretaries of the states.
“Chief Secretaries of states shall take immediate note of the state of patient care in government hospitals and formulate a detailed status report in this regard,” the bench added.
The matter will be heard again on 17 June.
Kejriwal is a ‘Failure’: BJP Slams AAP
Reacting to SC's sharp comments on Delhi's handling of COVID-19 cases, BJP said, 'truth' of national capital is out and CM Arvind Kejriwal has been a 'failure', PTI reported.
Cricketer turned politician, Lok Sabha MP Gautam Gambhir, too, took to Twitter to say, "Beware Delhi!....CM will not take responsibility."
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