E-Paper
Delhi HC stays proceedings against Ganga Ram Hospital on FIR over alleged Covid-19 norms violation
Justice C Hari Shankar, who issued the order, said the main petition will be heard and disposed of on August 11. It asked Delhi Police to submit its response to the main plea filed by the hospital, through advocate Rohit Aggarwal, seeking quashing of the FIR.
The Delhi high court on Monday stayed the first information report (FIR) registered against Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on a complaint by the city government for allegedly violating Covid-19 regulation norms.
The court said that prima facie, there are reasons to stay proceedings in the matter.
Justice C Hari Shankar, who issued the order, said the main petition will be heard and disposed of on August 11. It asked Delhi Police to submit its response to the main plea filed by the hospital, through advocate Rohit Aggarwal, seeking quashing of the FIR.
A detailed judgment would be uploaded on the high court’s website.
The plea had contended that the FIR registered on June 5 was “vague” and didn’t show any offence was committed under section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The counsel also said the FIR was silent on “how disobedience, as alleged by the Delhi government, is causing obstruction, annoyance or injury to any person”.
On June 17, the high court had put proceedings on the FIR in abeyance till June 22, while reserving its order on the stay application.
Advocate Rahul Mehra, the standing counsel (criminal) for the Delhi government, had told the court at the last hearing that if prima facie an offence had been committed, the law permits police to register an FIR and investigate. He said the hospital had violated the norms and an offence had been committed.
After hearing lengthy arguments, the court reserved its order and said it would pronounce the judgment on June 22.
The Delhi government had filed the FIR against the medical superintendent of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Rajendra Nagar for not following protocols for testing patients with Covid-19. The FIR was filed on the basis of a complaint by the deputy secretary of Delhi’s department of health and family welfare, Amit Kumar Pamasi.
The FIR was filed under section 188 of IPC, which allows punishment of one month’s simple imprisonment and/or a fine of ₹200 or six months imprisonment and/or a fine of ₹1,000 if the offence puts someone’s life at risk. This section of the IPC can be invoked under the Epidemic Diseases Act, which has been in force in Delhi since mid-March as the city battles the pandemic.
On June 3, the hospital was asked by the Delhi government to stop Covid-19 testing, citing violations of ICMR guidelines. However, on June 17, the Delhi government again granted it permission to start testing.