Putting officers in jail won't bring oxygen to Delhi, says SC; seeks info on allocation in 3 days

'Let us ensure lives are saved', the bench said

Putting officers in jail is not going to bring oxygen to Delhi, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday while it asked the Centre about the supply it has made to the national capital since May 3.

"Let us ensure lives are saved," it said.

The top court is hearing Centre's appeal against Delhi High Court's Tuesday order of issuing contempt notice and seeking personal appearance of its officials for non-compliance with the directions on supply of oxygen to treat Covid-19 patients in the national capital.

A bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud said that it had ordered supply of 700 MT oxygen to Delhi daily from May 3 as the “pandemic in Delhi is at a very critical stage”.

“Putting officers in jail is not going to bring oxygen to the city, let us ensure lives are saved,” said the bench which also comprised justice M R Shah.

“This is not adversarial litigation. Centre, Delhi governments are elected and doing their best to serve Covid-19 patients,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said.

"Tell us how much oxygen you have allocated to Delhi in the last three days," the bench said.

The hearing is still going on.