'Absence Of Burn Care Facilities Renders Right To Health Illusory': Jharkhand HC Issues Statewide Directions After Hazaribagh Fire Tragedy
The Jharkhand High Court has held that the absence of functional burn care facilities across the State renders the right to health under Article 21 “illusory”, issuing comprehensive directions to ensure establishment and operationalisation of burn units in all district hospitals.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice M.S. Sonak and Justice Rajesh Shankar was hearing a public interest litigation concerning a kerosene fire incident in Hazaribagh which resulted in multiple deaths and severe burn injuries.
The petitioner sought directions for immediate medical treatment of the victims, including their transfer to specialised burn units, provision of free medical care, and payment of compensation to the victims and their families.
The case arose from an incident in 2021 involving alleged distribution of highly inflammable kerosene through the Public Distribution System. It was brought to the Court's notice that several injured victims were admitted to Sadar Hospital, Hazaribagh, where adequate burn care facilities were unavailable, and essential medicines had to be procured privately.
The petitioner further relied on laboratory reports indicating that the kerosene supplied had a flash point of 13.5°C, far below the prescribed safety standard of 35°C, thereby rendering it hazardous for domestic use. The incident resulted in multiple fatalities, including a child and an elderly person, and left several others with grievous injuries and permanent disfigurement.
On the issue of compensation, the Court noted that although public law compensation for violation of Article 21 is well recognised, such determination would require adjudication of disputed facts and could not be undertaken in a writ proceeding at this stage. The Court observed that an FIR had already been registered and the matter was pending before a competent court, making it premature to award specific compensation amounts. However, the Court emphasised that victims could not be left remediless and directed them to avail remedies under the Victim Compensation Scheme under Section 357-A CrPC (now Section 396 BNSS), while also observing that civil remedies remained open.
Turning to the systemic issue, the Court took serious note of the State's admission regarding lack of adequate burn care facilities and inconsistencies in its affidavits. It found that claims of operational burn units across all districts were contradicted by the State's own records. The Court noted that it “cannot remain a mute spectator” and held:
“This admission by the State, as recorded in our earlier proceedings, strikes at the very heart of the “Right to Health” under Article 21. If, as admitted, no specialised burn care facility with modern infrastructure exists in the Government hospitals across the entire State of Jharkhand, then the constitutional guarantee of life with dignity remains largely illusory for victims of fire trauma”
Pursuant to the order dated 22.07.2025 passed by this Court, the State was directed to file a consolidated and comprehensive counter affidavit. Upon perusal of the said affidavit, which came to be filed after some delay, this Court, by its order dated 24.09.2025, made the following observations:
Pursuant to its earlier order dated 22.07.2025, the Court had directed the State to file a consolidated counter-affidavit regarding the availability of burn care facilities. Upon perusal of the affidavit filed thereafter, the Court found significant inconsistencies in the State's claims. While the State asserted that burn wards were operational across all 24 districts, the accompanying tabular statement reflected only 22 such units.
In its final directions, the High Court directed as follows:
“a) The State Government, through the Secretary, Department of Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare, shall ensure that dedicated burn units are made fully functional in all district hospitals and government medical colleges across the State of Jharkhand within a period of 120 days from the date of this judgment, in accordance with applicable guidelines, including those issued under the National Programme for Prevention and Management of Burn Injuries (NPPMBI).
b) The state Government shall further ensure that such burn units are not merely established in form but are rendered fully functional, with the adequate availability of trained medical and paramedical personnel, essential equipment, and supporting infrastructure, in strict adherence to the aforesaid guidelines.
c) The State Government shall ensure that all designated burn units are adequately stocked with essential medicines, consumables and supplies required for the management of burn injuries, in accordance with standard treatment protocols and applicable guidelines, and that uninterrupted availability of the same is maintained at all times.
d) The State Government shall ensure that burn patients are treated exclusively in designated burn units equipped with appropriate isolation facilities and infection-control measures, and not in general wards, except, of course, in documented and unavoidable circumstances.
e) To ensure the efficacy of these units, the State Government shall take all necessary steps to provide round-the-clock medical care, including uninterrupted access to specialist services and emergency treatment facilities within the said units.
f) Complementary to the infrastructure, the State Government shall undertake comprehensive training and capacity-building measures for doctors, nurses, and paramedical staff engaged in burn care, in accordance with applicable protocols, within a period of 90 days from the date of this judgment.
g) The State Implementation Committee or State Monitoring Committee, as contemplated under Clause 9.2 of the Operational Guidelines of the NPPMBI, shall be made operational and functional forthwith. However, if such a Committee has not yet been constituted, the State Government shall ensure its constitution within four weeks from today, strictly in accordance with the aforesaid Guidelines.
h) The said Committee, headed by the Principal Secretary (Health), shall function as the State-level supervisory body to oversee the implementation of the directions issued herein, including review of infrastructure, manpower and the operational status of burn units across the State. The Committee shall meet at least once every three months to ensure that deficiencies, if any, are identified and addressed within the stipulated time frame.
i) The Director-in-Chief, Health Services, Jharkhand, shall function as the nodal authority for the coordination and day-to-day implementation of the directions issued in this judgment, while the State Government shall ensure the allocation of adequate financial and administrative resources for the same.
j) Insofar as the victims of the incident in question are concerned, it shall be open to them or their legal heirs to approach the jurisdictional court seized of the proceedings arising out of Muffasil P.S. Case No. 45/2021 for the grant of compensation, including interim compensation, under the Victim Compensation Scheme framed under Section 357-A of the CRPC, 1973/Section 396 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. However, in the event that any victims or their legal heirs are unable to make such an application, the Secretary, District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Hazaribagh, shall take appropriate steps, including with the assistance of Para Legal Volunteers, to identify such victims and facilitate the filing of applications.
k) The jurisdictional court shall, upon such application being made or otherwise, consider the issue of grant of compensation, including interim compensation, in accordance with law, as expeditiously as possible and preferably within a period of three months from the date of such application.
l) Upon receipt of any recommendation from the jurisdictional court, the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Hazaribagh, shall act with promptitude and, after conducting due enquiry in accordance with law, take a decision on the claim for compensation, preferably within a period of one month from the date of receipt of such recommendation.
m) The jurisdictional court seized of Muffasil P.S. Case No. 45/2021 shall endeavour to proceed with the trial expeditiously and, as far as practicable, ensure that the trial is concluded at the earliest, in accordance with law.
Case Title: Onkar Vishwakarma v. State of Jharkhand and Ors.
Case No.: W.P. (PIL) No. 920 of 2021.
Appearance: Ms. Diksha Dwivedi appeared as Amicus Curiae. Mr. Piyush Chitresh appeared for the Respondents.