Delhi High Court Takes Suo Motu Cognisance Of Patients, Attendants Sleeping Outside Hospitals Amid Cold Wave

The Delhi High Court on Monday took suo motu cognisance of the “pitiable conditions” of patients, attendants and family members forced to sleep outside city hospitals in the biting winter cold due to lack of shelter.A division bench comprising Justice C Hari Shankar and Justice Om Prakash Shukla took cognizance of a newspaper report published in The Hindu on January 11. The report is titled "Night shelters packed, patients, kin brave the cold outside hospitals.” The article referred to the pitiable conditions of patients, attendants and kin of patients who are waiting for treatment in Hospitals and who have no place to stay.The Court said that the issue “calls for urgent executive or judicial intervention.”“Accordingly, the Registry is directed to register this as a writ petition under the suo moto Public Interest Litigation head,” the Court said. It further directed the Registry to implead the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs as well as the Delhi Government as respondents in the matter.“Let a writ petition in the aforesaid terms be registered and listed before the Division Bench-I which deals with Public Interest Litigation, as per Roster, subject to orders of Hon'ble the Chief Justice, today itself,” the Court said.Following the referral, the matter was heard briefly today by a division bench headed by Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya which asked the authorities to provide adequate facilities in the night shelters in th city.“We expect the authorities to take appropriate and adequate steps to ensure residents of night shelters are able to save themselves from the chilling cold,” the Court said.The bench asked the respondents' counsel to have complete instructions not only in respect of the night shelter regarding which the newspaper had published the report but also in respect of the situation prevailing in the night shelters across the city. "They shall also seek instructions, as to what steps are being taken to provide adequate facilities to the residents in the night shelters, so that they are equipped to face the severe cold. We also expect that all the authorities concerned shall take appropriate adequate steps to ensure that residents of the night shelters are able to save themselves from the chilling cold," the Court said.The matter is now listed on Wednesday for further hearing.Counsel for Respondents: Mr.Chetan Sharma, ASG, Mr.Ashish Dixit, CGSC, Mr.Amit Gupta, Mr.Shubham Sharma, Mr.Naman and Mr.Yash Vardhan Sharma, Advs for UoI; Mr.Sameer Vashisht, SC(Civil), GNCTD with Ms.Harshita Nathrani, Adv. Mr.Anuj Chaturvedi, AdvClick here to read order

Delhi High Court Takes Suo Motu Cognisance Of Patients, Attendants Sleeping Outside Hospitals Amid Cold Wave

Nupur Thapliyal

Tags