The Bombay high court (HC) directed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Ashish Shelar to submit the details of other instances in which the bodies of Covid-19 patients were left unattended in the wards of civic and government-run hospitals.
Referring to a video of Sion Hospital in which the bodies of Covid-19 victims were lying on beds or floor of the ward where patients infected with the virus were being treated, Shelar in his petition claimed that similar scenes were played out at other facilities too.
As the court was informed by the state that the Supreme Court was already seized of petitions relating to management and disposal of bodies of Covid-19 victims, it posted the hearing of the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the BJP legislator to July 23, after the hearing in the Apex court was completed.
On Friday, the division bench of chief justice Dipankar Datta and justice NJ Jamadar was informed by the state through advocate general Ashutosh Kumbhakoni that the HC did not have a propriety in the PIL as the SC was already hearing petitions related to issues similar to what was raised by Shelar in his PIL. The state also submitted that it was following the guidelines issued by the Centre over the disposal and management of bodies of Covid-19 patients.
However, senior counsel Rajendra Pai, along with advocates Akshay Pai and Omkar Khanvilkar, who appeared for Shelar, submitted that as the bench widened the scope of the petition in light of the instances similar to that of Sion Hospital, they wanted to submit the same in the form of an affidavit and hence the hearing of the PIL should be deferred.
{{/usCountry}}However, senior counsel Rajendra Pai, along with advocates Akshay Pai and Omkar Khanvilkar, who appeared for Shelar, submitted that as the bench widened the scope of the petition in light of the instances similar to that of Sion Hospital, they wanted to submit the same in the form of an affidavit and hence the hearing of the PIL should be deferred.
{{/usCountry}}After hearing the submissions, the court directed Shelar to submit videos and information of other instances in an affidavit and also directed the state to file a rejoinder, if any, before the next hearing.
In the earlier hearing, the state and BMC submitted the report of the committee that was constituted to probe into the video of the Sion hospital incident. Shelar’s counsel then sought a probe by the committee into the other instances of the alleged mismanagement too that were mentioned in the PIL.
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