New
Delhi:
The Gujarat government was pulled up by the Supreme Court today for bringing a
notification to reverse its order on fire safety norms in Covid hospitals, even
after the deaths of a number of patients in multiple fire incidents. Accusing
the state of a breach of order, the judges said the notification only gives
more time to hospitals that do not have a fire safety system and till they take
action, patients will continue to die. “The notification gives the impression
that the state is protecting illegality,” the court said.
“Once
there is an order by us, it cannot be overridden by an executive notification
like this. You (Gujarat) now give carte blanche and say hospitals do not have
to adhere (to the order) till 2022 and people will continue to die by burning,”
said Justice DY Chandrachud.
“At
Nashik (Maharashtra) one person recovered and was to be released next day. Two
nurses went to washroom. All were burnt alive,” Justice Chandrachud said. “These
are human tragedies unfolded before our eyes. Hospitals have become large real
estate industry and they survive on human stress. Hospitals in small four rooms
must be closed,” he added.
Demanding
that the state explain the notification through an affidavit, the judges asked
the state government to also submit an action taken report regarding the fire
safety audit conducted under the court's order of December 2020.
Gujarat
wanted time to file its reply, but the top court asked about the notification
today. “We read in newspapers that Gujarat had brought out a notification
giving time till March 2022 for hospitals to comply with our orders,” said
Justice MR Shah, who was part of the bench.
In
late November, six people had died at Rajkot's Uday Shivanand Hospital, where
Covid patients were treated. The police said the fire started in the Intensive
Care Unit, and investigation revealed negligence on part of the hospital
authorities, PTI reported.
Terming
the incident “shocking”, the Supreme Court had said the state was suppressing
facts. “According to you (Gujarat) everything is good, but your stand is
contrary to your own Chief Electrical Engineer's report about wiring,” the
court had said.
In
May this year, 18 people died at a hospital in Bharuch after yet another fire.
The Gujarat High Court, furious, had declared that “somebody has to be made
accountable”.
Pointing
out that the state government failed to take action on its previous orders on
preventing fire incidents, the High Court said, “It amounts to the contempt of
courts, of all the orders passed by the courts in the past. Ultimately, it
amounts to the contemptuous action on the part of the state for not being
vigilant so that such incidents are not repeated again and again”.
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