Bombay HC refuses immediate relief to hospital where fire killed 11 Covid patients

Sunrise Hospital had filed a petition challenging the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s order revoking its provisional occupancy certificate after 11 Covid patients died in a fire there on March 25

The Bombay high court on Tuesday refused an urgent hearing on a petition filed by Sunrise Hospital challenging the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)’s order revoking its provisional occupancy certificate after 11 Covid patients died in a fire there on March 25.

Bombay high court. (File photo)

A division bench of chief justice Dipankar Datta and justice Girish Kulkarni was informed by senior advocate Aabad Ponda that the hospital has 250 beds and sufficient arrangement of oxygen supply to treat Covid-19 patients. Ponda cited the current situation and the capacity of the hospital and said it should be permitted to reopen. He added that the decision of BMC was arbitrary as it did not give the hospital a hearing.

On April 11, the BMC cancelled the certificate granted to Sunrise Hospital on May 6, 2020.

Senior Counsel Anil Sakhare for the BMC submitted that a notice had been issued to the hospital owners to attend a hearing but as they did not appear, the decision to revoke the certificate was taken ex-parte. Sakhare added that after the fire, the no objection certificate and nursing license of the hospital was cancelled. He added that as the electricity supply of the hospital was cut off and the building is sealed by the police, the hospital could not be allowed to restart.

After hearing submissions, the bench said, “We do not want the hospital to start at this stage. It will have to wait.” The bench posted the matter for further hearing in June.