The
Delhi High Court on Monday directed the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to assess the
water quality at the Asha Kiran shelter home, which is government-operated and
serves individuals with intellectual disabilities. This order came in light of
14 recent deaths attributed to tuberculosis (TB), which the court suggested
could not be merely coincidental.
A
bench comprising acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedeala
also mandated the social welfare secretary to conduct an on-site visit and
submit a detailed report on the facility's condition.
The court emphasised the urgency of addressing the
issue and implementing necessary corrective actions.
“It
is strange that they all died of the same cause. There cannot be an outbreak of
TB in a shelter home. There are too many deaths in a short span of time... 14
deaths... It cannot be a coincidence,” the bench told standing counsel Sameer
Vashisht, appearing for the Delhi government.
“There
have to be curative measures that need to be put in place,” the bench stated.
The
court, which also instructed the decongestion of the shelter home, was hearing
a plea from NGO Samadhan Abhiyan. This plea called for the formation of a
committee, led by a retired high court judge, to conduct a court-monitored
investigation into the deaths or alternatively, a Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) probe.
The petition requested that the Delhi government be
directed to perform a social security audit of all its shelter homes to provide
an accurate and truthful depiction of their living conditions.
Filed
by advocates Abhigyan Siddhant and Anurag Sahay, the plea argued that the
inquiry ordered by the Delhi government could not be impartial, given its
direct control over both the shelter home and the DJB. The plea contended that
the Delhi government was attempting to act as a judge in its own case, which should
not be permitted.
Vashisht
presented the court with a chart detailing the causes of death at the shelter
home, noting that 13 of the 14 residents passed away in hospitals due to
comorbidities.
The
Delhi government has called for a magisterial investigation into the matter.
Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena instructed Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar to take
action against the facility's administrator and produce a comprehensive report
on the management of all similar homes within three weeks.
A
report from the social welfare secretary, submitted to Saxena on August 2,
indicated that 28 residents have died at the shelter home since January 2024.
Minister Atishi has also tasked the additional chief secretary with providing a
detailed report.