The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday said the Chamarajanagar tragedy, where 24 patients died due to oxygen shortage, is a fit case for an enquiry by a retired high court judge. A division bench headed by Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka asked Advocate General Prabhuling K Navadgi to make a submission on this.
“Prima facie, we are of the view that considering the seriousness of the incident, this is a fit case where an enquiry will have to be conducted by a retired judge of this court. Similar incidents are happening in other districts as well. We propose to hear the Advocate General on this issue,” the bench said.
Earlier, the AG submitted that the state government has taken the issue seriously and senior IAS officer Shivayogi Kalasad has been deputed to the spot and asked to submit a preliminary report. The AG said the report is expected to be filed by Wednesday evening or Thursday morning. He also said that a web portal has been set up wherein hospital authorities place their orders. Subsequently, equitable and fair distribution of oxygen is done.
Meanwhile, the advocates for the petitioners pointed out that deaths occurred due to lack of oxygen supply in Kalaburagi. A counsel said that at least 10 hospitals in Bengaluru tried to reach out to the state government on Twitter about shortage. Another counsel said there is a shortage of oxygen supply in Kolar district as well.
The bench sought to know the existing guidelines for allocation of oxygen to hospitals in cities/districts. "The state government will have to clarify the mechanism applicable to those districts like Chamarajanagar where there are no bottling plants and cylinders will have to be brought from adjacent districts," the bench said. The court said whether a buffer quota can be maintained at district centres which can be used for emergencies.