Jaipur Golden deaths: HC issues notice to Centre, Delhi govt, hospital on plea seeking court-monitored CBI probe

Justice Rekha Palli sought a response from the central ministries of home and health, Delhi government, and Jaipur Golden Hospital by August 20, and posted the case for hearing on August 28.

THE DELHI High Court on Friday issued a notice to the Centre and Delhi government on a petition filed by families of patients who died at Jaipur Golden Hospital in April, allegedly due to shortage of medical oxygen, for a court-monitored CBI probe into the deaths. The petition also seeks quashing of a report prepared by a Delhi government committee in May on the 21 deaths.

Justice Rekha Palli sought a response from the central ministries of home and health, Delhi government, and Jaipur Golden Hospital by August 20, and posted the case for hearing on August 28.

A total of eight petitioners, who lost their family members on April 23 and 24, have said in the petition that the “unfortunate incident of death” of their family members took place “due to deliberate inaction and failure” of authorities to provide adequate oxygen to patients of Covid-19 despite “having knowledge that any shortage of oxygen supply would cause immediate death of the patients”.

The petition also called the four-member committee report erroneous and misleading. The report had concluded that all patients were getting “oxygen therapy/ventilation” throughout the hospital stay, including the time of resuscitation, and claimed there was no mention of any oxygen shortage in any of the case records.

“The cause of the death of the deceased has been mentioned as respiratory failure by doctors for the reason that proper oxygen supply was not given to the deceased on time. It is the case of the hospital that when oxygen supply did not come on time, the deceased were put on oxygen cylinders. However, the requisite pressure was not there and due to the same, the patients died while suffocating for oxygen,” it reads further.

Regarding the committee’s observation that patients were suffering from co-morbidities, the plea states that out of all the petitioners’ family members, only one was facing some other ailment but his death was also on account of respiratory failure.

The petition also seeks securing records of the hospital relating to demand and supply of medical oxygen, CCTV footage, and award of compensation to the families.

“Most of the Covid-19 victims were the sole earning members… and after their demise, the families are struggling for their basic needs. Due to inaction and failure of the respondents, a large number of children have become orphans and there is no one to take care of them as during the current lockdown everyone is in financial crisis,” it argues.

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