Abhinav Mishra| Kirit P. Mehta School of Law| 23rd June 2020
Case: Court on its own Motion v. State of NCT of Delhi and Ors.
Introduction:
The writ petition has been taken up by the Delhi HC on its own motion for intervention in regards of the State’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The bench Comprises of Hon’ble The Chief Justice Hon’ble and Mr. Justice Prateek Jalan.
Facts:
Learned Amicus Curiae has, in his report, pointed out to this court that the mobile application namely “Delhi Corona Mobile Application” by the Delhi Govt. is not being updated regularly. That there was a mismatch of data and facts provided by the Govt. and Pvt. Hospitals especially regarding the availability of beds and ventilators. It is also submitted that some of the hospitals run by the Central Government/Government of NCT of Delhi is not updating the data. It is further submitted that helpline numbers as provided by Govt. of NCT of Delhi, are not properly working.
It is further submitted by the learned Amicus Curiae that real-time updation of data should be done by the hospitals or data should at least be updated every 8 hours. He also submitted that there should be no denial in testing and asymptomatic patients should also be tested for Covid-19 immediately.
Learned Standing Counsel appearing for the Government of NCT of Delhi filed an affidavit in which it pointed out various steps initiated by the Govt. Of NCT of Delhi:
- A Centralized toll-free helpline number 1031 has been developed by merging all the helplines, which provide seven types of services.
- That the Standard Operating Procedure has also been evolved for receiving calls and effectively responding to the callers.
- That a special helpline number dedicated only to the Corona positive patients/cases have recently been initiated.
- Four Grievance Officers have been appointed for redressal of complaints regarding availability of the ambulance, hospital, beds and ventilators, etc.
Holding:
The court having heard the Amicus Curiae and the counsels for respondents/intervener and held that there was a need of a real-time update of the data by all hospitals including the Delhi Government-run hospitals, the Central Government-run hospitals and private hospitals. The court hence directed the Govt. of NCT of Delhi as well as Central Govt. that they shall take all necessary steps for ensuring real-time update of the data, without too much of a time lag, so that the information being received by the public is current. The court also directed the Central Govt. that testing will be carried out by the central govt. as well as the state government prioritizing persons approaching with a doctor’s recommendation. The court listed the matter on 25/06/2020.
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