Plea in HC over distribution of O2 by minister

A bench of justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli issued a notice to Hussain seeking his reply, and said it needed to be figured where he was procuring the cylinders from.

The Delhi high court on Friday directed the state food and civil supplies minister Imran Hussain to appear before the court on Monday on a plea over stopping the alleged “unauthorised”, “unlawful” and “arbitrary” distribution of oxygen cylinders by the MLA in his constituency Ballimaran.

The court’s observation and directions came while hearing a plea which alleged irregularities in the supply of medical essentials and sought an enquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). (AP | Representational image)

A bench of justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli issued a notice to Hussain seeking his reply, and said it needed to be figured where he was procuring the cylinders from.

“Suppose he is not getting it from refillers in Delhi... Suppose he has independent arrangement from some supplier in Rajasthan, Faridabad, or wherever…. If he is getting it from there and he is giving it to some people in need in his constituency, then you cannot have a grievance because then he is only augmenting supply to Delhi. Even gurdwaras are doing it,” said the court.

“If he’s not eating away from the allocated source... He has arranged his own cylinder. Let us be clear about it,” it added, saying that there could be a grievance if Hussain was taking it from the allocation made for hospitals, nursing homes, or for individual use at homes in the national capital.

The court’s observation and directions came while hearing a plea which alleged irregularities in the supply of medical essentials and sought an enquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Advocate Amit Tiwari, representing petitioner Vedansh Anand, showed a Facebook post referring to the distribution of oxygen by Hussain, and contended that there was hoarding involved. The Delhi government counsel Rahul Mehra said that whether it is BJP MP Gautam Gambhir or AAP MLA Hussain, strictest possible action will be taken if any violation is found. His reference was to Gambhir’s tweet on April 21 that people in need of Fabiflu tablets could get them for free at his office. Fabiflu is an anti-viral used in the management of symptoms of Covid-19 infection.

The court is hearing a plea by Rakesh Malhotra, who along with several hospitals had sought directions to the Centre and the Delhi government for better facilities and continuous supply of oxygen in the hospitals and nursing homes of the city.

During the hearing, the court rejected a suggestion to bring the Armed Forces for setting up field hospitals in the national capital saying that they should be first ready for the duty they have been raised for.

Meanwhile, another bench of the high court asked the Delhi government to treat as a representation a PIL seeking compensation for the families of those patients who died due to shortage of oxygen. A bench of chief justice DN Patel and justice Jasmeet Singh directed that the representation be decided in accordance with the law, rules, regulations, and policy applicable to the facts of the case