We are aghast, says Patna high court at discrepancy in govt statistics of deaths

The Patna high court was upset that the chief secretary’s affidavit mentioned only six deaths in Buxar since 1 March 2021, the divisional commissioner’s affidavit mentioned 789 cremations at just one cremation ghat.

Patna:The Patna high court on Monday signalled its displeasure at the inconsistency in the government’s figures of deaths in two affidavits filed by top officials and told the government to file the data afresh after verifying them from all sources.

Buxar: Police personnel looking buried in the ground dead bodies were found Mahadev Ghat on the banks of river Ganga in Chausa village, in Buxar,Tuesday, May. 11,2021.( PTI Photo )(PTI05_11_2021_000242B) (PTI)

“We are aghast at the manner in which the affidavits are being filed. The bench deserves better treatment from the government. We don’t appreciate this,” a bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Sanjay Kumar said on Monday after reviewing two affidavits filed by chief secretary and Patna divisional commissioner on deaths in Buxar district.

The bench had earlier sought a detailed affidavit from the Patna divisional commission in course of a hearing on a public interest litigation (PIL) on Covid management after the “disturbing” issue of corpses floating in the Ganga river was reported.

The bench was upset that while the chief secretary’s affidavit said only six deaths had taken place in Buxar since March 1, 2021, there were 789 cremations mentioned in the commissioner’s affidavit at just one cremation ghat, Muktidham Charitarban, Buxar, under the Nagar Parishad between May 5 and May 14.

“The CS (chief secretary) does not say that six deaths are only due to Covid. The commissioner also does not say that 789 deaths are non-Covid ones. The total population of Buxar is 17 lakh, but the figures are only for Nagar Parishad. There is no mention of the religion or age groups of the dead. Hindus may be a majority in Buxar, but that does not mean there is none from other religions. Last rites may also have been performed at burial grounds,” the bench said.

Advocate general Lali Kishore conceded that certain clarifications were required to reconcile the data and promised to come back to the court after getting the details.

The judges told Lali Kishore, the state’s top officer, to vet the affidavits before they are filed with the court.

“At this point in time, we do not comment anything further on these affidavits, but all facts first must be verified from all sources and then only placed before us, else it will amount to filing of false/incomplete affidavit.,” the bench observed, ordering the state to depute at least two technically qualified persons to update the data.

The bench said they also wanted to know the age group of the people who had died, irrespective of whether the deaths were attributed to Covid-19 or not. “If the young people are dying, it is serious,” it said.

The bench also noted that the state hadn’t been updating the websites with the correct figures

“We notice that the official website maintained by the State of Bihar for recording births and deaths has not yet been updated. We see no reason as to why the deaths, be it 6 or 789, would not have been updated on the official website. Equally, this would apply to all the districts of Bihar,” the bench observed.

Oxygen supply

The bench also wanted to know if the state had been provided with enough tankers for transportation of 400 metric tonnes of liquid medical oxygen (LMO) it had demanded. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) K N Singh said the Centre had allocated the demanded quantity and the issue of transportation had been resolved.

“Let an affidavit of the principal secretary, health, verifying such fact, be filed within next two days. He shall also inform the sufficiency or lack thereof, of the infrastructure for transporting the entire allocated quota of oxygen (LMO). He shall apprise the Court of the infrastructure for storage and transportation up to the point of end user,” the bench said.