Thread by @barandbench

#BombayHighCourt is hearing Suo Motu plea concerning #COVID19 situation in districts falling within the Aurangabad Bench jurisdiction.

Hearing before Bench of Justices RV Ghuge and BU Debadwar.

#COVIDEmergency #Maharashtra #MaharashtraFightsCorona

The Court had in the previous hearing directed all persons stepping out, except during relaxation hours, to carry Aadhar card as lockdown violators will be subject to RT-PCR test.

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Chief Public Prosecutor DR Kale submits the figures of RT-PCR tests conducted in the previous week.

Court notes there is a reduction in the number of tests.

Court: But what about vaccines? How much percentage is covered from Aurangabad population?

#COVIDVaccination

Adv SG Chapalgaonkar submits that about 2.34 lakh people have been vaccinated. The first dose has been administered to 87% of the population.

#COVIDVaccination #MaharashtraGovernment #MaharashtraFightsCorona

Kale: We are in a better position for oxygen. Private hospitals have started generation of oxygen now.

He submits a district wise chart.

#OxygenCylinders #Oxygen #Maharashtra #BombayHighCourt

Court: Do government hospitals not manufacture?

Kale submits there are government facilities as well.

#OxygenCylinders #Oxygen #Maharashtra #BombayHighCourt

Court: But this is not in Aurangabad. Not a single government hospital..

#OxygenCylinders #Oxygen #Maharashtra #BombayHighCourt

Court asks the amicus Adv SS Bora to respond.

Bora: I have perused the State affidavit, I have submitted my affidavit. I have roamed around the city without helmet and Aadhar card, and no body has stopped me.
Basically there is no proper execution.

Bora: People are not wearing masks properly, despite specific directions. There is no action against them. In Aurangabad I haven’t seen anyone asking for Aadhar.

Court: So no checking going on?

Bora: It is a farce created.

#COVIDEmergency #BombayHighCourt

Bora: Next #SupremeCourt has uploaded the order. I have annexed that. They have made observations for oxygen.

Supreme Court order here:
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Bora reads the following para:

Kale submits that there was supply of oxygen and there has not been any incident of death due to #OxygenShortage.

Court: But we have taken cognizance of a news article that patients have been told to arrange for their own #Oxygensupply.

Bora submits new news cuttings.

Bora: Political persons are not able to understand the guidelines. They should be guiding the public, but what they are doing is the opposite. Action has been taken, but then what happened of it?

#COVIDEmergency #Maharashtra

Court: These are public representatives.. is an FIR registered?

Kale: Yes.

Court: under what offences?

Kale: For violating lockdown guidelines.

#COVIDEmergency #Maharashtra

Kale points out that police officials are taking measures to ensure against the persons to ensure that the lockdown guidelines are being followed.

Court: At least 3 HC judges have seen people roaming around without masks.

#COVIDEmergency #Maharashtra

Court: People are roaming around freely. And we cannot catch hold of such people, and we do not want to do that.
Unless you want us to exercise our magisterial powers.

#COVIDEmergency #Maharashtra

Court: We see and we tell you so action can be taken. And the people’s representatives should set an example!
This news item shows an MLA was out for a bhoomi-pujan… Why does this MLA find only this period for bhoomi pujas.. and with 40 people around.

#COVIDEmergency

Court: And the signal which is given to the public is that they can also go out and about.

We are keeping this matter on Wednesday for this purpose (to Kale) you will tell us what action has been taken against him, and how many people you caught violating guidelines.

Bora points out that there is another news article which pertains to #RemdesivirBlackMarketing. Wherein persons who were caught for the offence were released on bail after 3-4 days.

Court: Yes, but what we should appreciate that the police at least caught hold of them.

Court: We are keeping this matter on Thursday, May 6. We will pass certain directions now.

Court: You have to show us the amount of injections involved in black-marketing. You have to show us how people are scared for coming out without masks, without Aadhar card, without helmet. Are they scared? No, it means we have failed.

#COVIDEmergency #BombayHighCourt

Bora: There are COVID care centres. At the centres there are doctors which are BDS, BHMS, but no MD doctors are available. These centres should have at least one MD doctor, even if visiting.
Even if there is one MD doctor, fatality can be brought down.

Court records order.

Court: Amicus curiae has submitted an affidavit. He has placed before us an order of the Apex Court. He has specifically pointed out para 30 where the apex court has dealt with supply of oxygen and importance of creating buffer stock of oxygen.

Court: In this context, the Chief PP has tendered affidavit of Dept Commissioner General Admin where he has given chart as regards the daily consumption of Aurangabad Division of April 2021. Consumption was 4326.541 MT.

Court: The Supply of oxygen was over 45000 MT. The FDA Aurangabad submitted that the buffer stock of oxygen in MT is about 200+
Amicus curiae submitted the failure on the part of citizens to comply with lockdown restrictions especially of not wearing mask.

Court: He submitted a news reports of Aurangabad edition to indicate that an MLA from Aurangabad, Sanjay Shirsat had performed a ground breaking ceremony (bhoomi pagan) pertaining to his development work in his constituency.

Court: Newspaper contains photos of several persons crowding at the place of the bhoomi pagan. Some of them are wearing masks, some are not.

Court: There was no physical distancing. Chief PP submits that the News item itself mentions that an offence was registered against the MLA and against the 40-50 persons.
He is unable to state whether an FIR is registered with the police station.

Court: He assures the court that on the next date he will inform the offences.
Amicus curiae has placed on record two more news items.

Court: Those indicate that the local police were successful in exposing a racket of the theft of Remdesivir and sale at exorbitant rates in the market amounting to #RemdesivirBlackMarketing.

Chief PP submits that the police was successful in exposing and arresting the persons.

Court: This could be done because police was alert and by their timely intervention, these offenders have been arrested.

We are aware of the directions of the Apex Court as well as this court at Principal seat and Nagpur Bench.

Court: As recorded earlier, we reiterate that in so far as PIL before us, we would refrain from passing any such order which was likely to disturb the uniform supply of injections and oxygen by the Centre and state.

Court: It is by the wisdom of the Centre and state in tune with the policies adopted to ensure optimum supply and equal distribution of oxygen and Remdesivir injections, in proportion to the various districts of Maharashtra.

Court: Chief PP informs us that private hospitals as well as the government hospitals and other industries are being encouraged to set up oxygen manufacturing plats and by resorting to his process, the govt wants to ensure adequate supply of O2 in the state.

Court: to ensure that no patient suffers on account of non-supply of oxygen.

Court: We had directed the respondents to inform us as regards the position of the funeral ghats and the setting up of electric crematoriums.

Kale submits that his affidavit includes those details.

Court notes from the affidavit that there are using wood for burning of bodies.

Court: So we are back to the primitive ways of chopping wood?
Where do you get these wood sticks from? Chopping trees right?

#BombayHighCourt #COVIDEmergency

Court: File your affidavit. Include these details which is a new way which we are not aware of.
I have never seen wooden bricks. I have attended many funerals.

#BombayHighCourt #COVIDEmergency

Court: We saw people surrounding a place where you get chopped wood in a local newspaper.

#BombayHighCourt #COVIDEmergency

Court: We are asking you to consider electric furnaces, you are telling us it is costly. In the long run this is going to be cheap.
Look at this country, where the country invested in vaccines, they got 92% of their population vaccinated. They did not have to lockdown.

Court: Destroying nature is something which cannot be undone. Finances can be built. Aurangabad has grown as a city. With so many funerals, how many jungles have been destroyed!

Court: Chapalgaonkar has submitted that today Aurangabad has no electric furnaces. There is not a single electric or LPG crematorium, since it is extremely costly to erect and maintain them.

Court: Such furnaces require 24 hours uninterrupted supply of electricity and have to be maintained at a articlar temperature. LPG on the other hand is cost effective and easy to maintain.

Court: We have suggested to respondent districts that there are several industrial areas and districts. Several multinational companies have CSR funds. And these are utilised for catering to public need.

Court: We have read in one of the newspapers that a Swedish company has donated to the govt hospitals electric furnaces as part of CSR. If the local authorities support the cause of electric crematorium, there will be industrialists who will support such cause.

Court: According to us lighting the funeral pyre by chopping woods is disastrous to Mother Nature, and earth and the larger interest of protecting natural resources would be achieved by converting the normal cremation methods to LPG crematoriums.

Court: We call upon Divisional Commissioner of Aurangabad and the advocates representing the Municipal corporations to make a statement as to whether they are inclined to invite industrialists and philanthropists to bring in LPG and electric crematoriums.

Considering the reply of Aurangabad and Nanded Municipal corporation, steps are being taken for setting up LPG crematoriums.

Amicus curiae has raised issue that dead bodies of COVID-19 patients are packed in sacks and multiple sacks are carried to the crematorium.

Court: Though death takes away life of a person and release the soul, the body of such person has to be treated with respect, the respect for such person has to be maintained by ensuring the final rites of the person are allowed of such persons.

Court: We call upon respondents to respond on this issue. The Chief PP would inform us as regards the steps taken by the law enforcing agencies with regard to lockdown violators with regards to masks and helmets while moving on the streets ever since passing of our order.

Corut: We also want to know what has happened pertaining to the concerned MLA who conducted the bhoomi poojan as is reported.

Matter is posted to May 6, 2021 at 2.30 pm.

Court: We are informed on that a drug from Zydus Cadillac has been granted permission to be used in the place of Remdesivir and it is as effective. We expect the divisional commissioner to have a discussion from those doctors from city who are operating COVID facilities.

Court: And intimate the court as to whether the govt could be in a position to authoritatively advice the medical faculty of Maharashtra to refrain from over insistence of Remdesivir drug and fall back on alternative drug like Vyafin.

Hearing ended.

Matter will be taken on May 6, 2021.