Jaipur Golden Hospital Deaths: Delhi Court Grants Last Opportunity To Delhi Police For Filing ATR In Plea Against Hospital Administration

A Delhi Court on Tuesday granted one last opportunity to the Delhi Police for filing an action taken report in a plea seeking registration of FIR for the offence of murder against the management of Jaipur Golden Hospital where several patients allegedly lost their lives due to oxygen shortage.

The development came after Metropolitan Magistrate Vivek Beniwal observed that the status report filed in the matter as per the Court's previous order was filed in a 'casual manner'.

"On June 25, the Court had directed the SHO to file ATR in the matter. The IO has filed the status report which has been forwarded by SHO. The status report has been filed in a very casual manner. The IO has not displayed what steps he has taken after he was ordered to file a Status Report in the matter," the Court said.

Furthermore, it said:

"Considering the fact that the present matter is highly sensitive, I'm of the opinion that the ATR or Status Report should be filed by the area DCP concerned. This is the last opportunity granted to the police department to file the Status Report."

However, the Court also went ahead to clarify that in case the status report is not adequately filed by the next date of hearing, appropriate action will be taken as per the law.

The matter will now be considered on 3 August.

Filed through Advocates Sahil Ahuja and Siddhant Sethi, the plea has been moved on behalf of six family members of the deceased patients alleging that Jaipur Golden Hospital's management should be punished and that they should be charged with offences including murder, criminal intimidation, death by negligence, criminal conspiracy etc.

Stating that the Court must take cognizance of the aforesaid charges, the plea also alleges that the Police, with a mala fide intention, did not arrest or set up an inquiry against the management of the Hospital.

The plea also avers that by not providing proper oxygen support to the patients leading to their death makes it an act which amounts to culpable homicide.

In a similar development, the Delhi High Court is also seized of a similar plea filed by family of 9 victims seeking a Court monitored CBI SIT Investigation into the deaths that took place in Jaipur Golden Hospital on 23rd and 24th April, seizure of important records and CCTV footage and also compensation to such families.

The Court had sought response of Union of India through Ministry of Health, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of NCT of Delhi, Government of NCT of Delhi through Health Department and Jaipur Golden Hospital and posted the matter for hearing on August 28.

Moved through Advocate Utsav Bains, the plea alternatively prayed for providing monthly sustenance allowance to the single parent, orphans or to the families who have lost their earning member due to inaction of respondent authorities.

Stating that the report submitted by a three member committee of NCT of Delhi's Health Department was erroneous, the plea averred that the cause of the death in the report was mentioned as respiratory failure by the doctors for the reason that proper oxygen supply was not given to the deceased on time.