HC lets Delhi govt panel probe ‘oxygen’ shortage deaths

New Delhi: Clearing the decks for a high-powered committee set up by the AAP government to investigate deaths caused by alleged medical oxygen shortage during the second wave of Covid-19, Delhi high court on Tuesday said it saw no difficulty in such a probe.

The court, dealing with a plea to operationalise the committee, which was earlier put on hold by the LG, took note of the stand of the state government that the committee will not attribute any fault to any hospital and any compensation will be paid and absorbed by the government alone. It further recorded that according to the AAP government, the criteria for determining compensation will be open to scrutiny and its task would not overlap with that of a sub-group constituted by Supreme Court on allocation and utilisation of oxygen.

A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh, while dealing with the LG’s objections, observed that the “intent of the government in issuing the May 27 order (on constitution of the committee) is not to grant an ex gratia amount to a Covid-19 victim” but to “examine each complaint/representation received by the committee in relation to the death of a Covid patient due to lack of O2.”

The high court pointed out that the Delhi government has “expressed its intention to reinstate” the committee but “due to the difference in opinion (with regard to the scope of its mandate) between the council of ministers and the LG, the stalemate is continuing.” During the course of the hearing, the bench said that it will “permit it (committee) to go on” only if the Delhi government clarifies that the compensation would be paid by them without fixing any liability on the hospitals.