Rajkot COVID Hospital Fire : Supreme Court Expresses Shock; Takes Suo Moto Cognizance; Seeks Responses Of Centre, Gujarat

The Supreme Court on Friday took suo motu cognisance of the fire which broke out at a COVID-19 designated hospital in Gujarat's Rajkot in the wee hours of the morning today.

The Court stated that the breaking of fires in Covid19 hospitals is repetitive and no legitimate measures were being taken by the authorities to mitigate and prevent these fires in hospitals. The court directed the Centre to bring on record the steps to prevent fires in hospitals by Tuesday next week and also directed the State of Gujarat to submit a report.

"The Court takes suo motu cognisance of the incident that happened today where 6 persons in Rajkot died due to fire in a covid designated hospital, not the first incident. These incidents are repeated and we notice that no complete steps being taken by states nor is there any mechanism to abrogate the situation. The SG submits that he is aware of the incident and he will ensure that steps are taken by tomorrow and that he will inform the court regarding steps taken on the next date. We also direct the Counsel of Gujarat to submit a report by Tuesday when the matter is taken up next", a bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy and M R Shah ordered.

When the matter came up for hearing today, Justice Shah at the beginning of the hearing made strong remarks and severely criticised the Centre and State for their inability to curb and prevent fires in Covid designated Hospitals. He remarked,

"This is shocking! And let me say this is not the first incident. We are taking suo motu cognisance of this incident"

- Supreme Court

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that he will ensure a meeting takes place today and immediate steps are taken so as to ensure that there is system in place to look at the issues of fire safety.

"You must consult with the Chief Fire Officer, Mr. MF Dastoor," said Justice Bhushan

"We will form a committee.." says SG

"We do not want a committee, we want proper steps to be taken..." Justice Bhushan said.

The bench then pointed out that even though the Covid wave was uncontrollable and was getting from bad to worse since March, no concrete steps were being taken either by the Centre or the States.

Court said that processions are being taken out and 80% people are not wearing masks. Rest have masks hanging on to their jaw.

"There are SOP's, there are guidelines but there is no will!," the bench said.

The Solicitor General told the court that there was a need to implement measures more stringently by State Governments. "Of course, this is not "Us Vs. Them", its Us Together. I must add, 10 states adding to 70 per cent of the rising Covid cases including Maharashtra, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh," the law officer added.

The directions were given in the suo moto case titled, "In Re: Proper Treatment of COVID-19 Patients and Dignified Handling of Dead Bodies in the Hospitals, etc".

Earlier this week, the top court had observed that the pandemic situation is likely to worsen across the country in the coming months and States as well as the Centre must be well-equipped to deal with the Covid19 crisis.

In this light, a bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, R. Subhash Reddy & MR Shah directed the States of Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat & Assam to file status reports with respect to the Covid19 cases in respective states, the ground situation for handling crisis as well as steps taken.

"All states have to be prepared to combat the situation of Covid19 which is likely to worsen and immediate steps required by all states. Status report be filed within two days. List on Friday," Supreme Court directed.