Centre's Appeal Against Delhi HC's Contempt Show-Cause Notice Over Oxygen Non-Supply : Live Updates From Supreme Court

Justice Chandrachud: First and foremost have a peace of mind. I know you are all working beyond the call of duty and the aim is not to haul up the officers for contempt. 

Justice Shah: Contempt doesn’t help. Until and unless it is absolutely wilful.

SG: We have done mapping in such a way so that the oxygen is brought nearby. But, most of the chunks are in West, which is why it takes time to reach 700. 

Piyush Goyal, Additional Secretary appears. 

#DelhiHighCourt #SupremeCourt #OxygenShortage 

Justice Chandrachud: You can tell the officers. 

SG: Ask them to come on the screen, they can explain it. All the western parts cater to Western States. Some portion comes from Western and some comes from Eastern. 

#DelhiHighCourt #SupremeCourt #OxygenShortage 

Mehra lists down the amount of oxygen which has been available over the past few days - in a midnight to midnight calculation. 

Justice Chandrachud: So, 351 has been received till noon. So, it can even go up to 700.

Mehra: Reached means borders. We only account for midnight to midnight so that cycle is comparable. The previous three days, the situation has slightly improved and since yesterday it has improved quite a bit due to consistent orders being passed.

Justice Chandrachud: Please ensure that the benchmark we have fixed, it is observed between today and Monday. By the evening today, tell us how much you can ensure the capacity for Delhi. 

ASG: Till noon, 351.56 MT has reached Delhi till noon. 

Justice Shah: Reached means what?

Justice Chandrachud: If you draw from experience and figure out how the holding corporations can be done in Delhi, then we don’t have to wait for Monday. Then we will have a module for Delhi in place based on the successful model in Bombay, which is a large metropolis.

Justice Chandrachud: Yes, we may be using more oxygen which may not be economically wise, but we need to balance it with the need to save lives. 

#DelhiHighCourt #SupremeCourt #OxygenShortage 

SG: Now there is a letter which says that they may need 900. 

Justice Chandrachud: This is what we have indicated in our order to install buffer stocks. If this can be done in Mumbai, which is an incredibly congested city, then it can be done in Delhi.

SG: Active cases and requirements were all the same. We requested Bombay to send us the model so that we could tell other States to emulate the same. As a resident of Delhi and not an officer of the court, it is the case of Delhi that they need 700.