[COVID-19 Oxygen shortage] No reason to await further SC orders on fixation of compensation: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court said it has “no difficulty” if the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government appointed High-Powered Committee discharged its assigned role to look into deaths due to lack of medical oxygen in the national capital during the second wave of COVID-19 [Riti Singh Verma v. State of NCT of Delhi]..In its September 21 order, the Bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh stated,“We do not think that it is necessary for us to await further orders by the Supreme Court with regard to fixation of ex-gratia amount to be paid to the Covid victims, as fixed by the NDMA. There is no overlap, as we see, over the tasks assigned to the sub-group for NCT of Delhi and that assigned to the committee constituted by the GNCTD.”.The Bench was hearing a plea moved by a woman who lost her husband during the second wave of the pandemic in May. She had reportedly read in news reports that the GNCTD had constituted a committee of experts to examine deaths of persons during the second wave. She, therefore, sought directions to the Delhi government to operationalise the HPC, refer her case to the committee and also grant her compensation as per its recommendations..The Additional Solicitor General (ASG) of India appearing for the Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Delhi had argued that the Supreme Court had constituted a sub-group led by All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Director Dr Randeep Guleria, to look into the allocation and supply of medical oxygen to hospitals in Delhi, and other related issues.It was also submitted that the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was mandated by the Supreme Court to examine the aspect of granting ex-gratia compensation to the kin of persons who died due to COVID-19, and in an order passed on September 13, 2021, gave further time for the same purpose. The Bench was also informed that the matter was likely to be listed before the Supreme Court soon. Therefore, the ASG urged the Court to await the fixation of ex-gratia compensation by the NDMA and sought an adjournment..The High Court, however, referred to the Supreme Court order of May 6, 2021, to note that the National Task Force (NTF) was constituted with a view to look into systemic and logistical issues concerning allocation, distribution, transportation and supply of medical oxygen to states and union territories..“Neither the NTF, nor the sub-groups were tasked with examination of the situation with regard to availability/non-availability of medical oxygen at specific hospitals and nursing homes; the number of patients admitted suffering from COVID-19 in need of medical oxygen; the utilisation of the available stocks of medical oxygen, or; the like,” the High Court reasoned.The Court also pointed out that the petitioner and the counsel for GNCTD had stated that the scope of the proceedings before the Supreme Court did not overlap with the scope of the proceedings related to the constitution of the Committee.Referring to the GNCTD’s order on the Committee’s constitution, the Bench said its purpose was to examine each complaint or representation in relation to COVID-19 deaths due to lack of oxygen, and to undertake inquiries into the same.“It would be seen that the NDMA is only looking at the aspect of grant of ex-gratia amount to Covid victims. So far as the GNCTD is concerned, it is already granting ex-gratia compensation of ₹50,000 in respect of each Covid death. If the NDMA fixes the larger amount, the same would also be payable to Covid victims. However, the intention of the GNCTD in issuing the order dated 27.05.2021 is not to fix the ex-gratia amount to be paid to Covid victims,” the Court noted..The Bench, however, clarified that the HPC cannot take over the role of either a civil court or a consumer court, or for that matter the Medical Council of India - the only fora meant to fix liability in case of any lapse, fault or negligence on the part of a nursing home or hospital in grant of medical treatment.The Delhi government assured the Court that the HPC would only undertake a fact-finding exercise, and “no fault shall be attributed” to the medical facilities. Senior Counsel for the AAP government also stated that the objective criteria with regard to award of compensation, limited to a maximum of ₹5 lakh in each case, would be fixed by the Committee, and the same would open to scrutiny.The Bench, as a result, observed that the task of the HPC would not overlap with that of the sub-group constituted by the Supreme Court in respect of Delhi.“We see no difficulty in the High Powered Committee constituted by the GNCTD discharging its assigned role,” it, therefore, held..The AAP government had said there was no "reasonable or lawful" justification for the LG to object to the constitution of the HPC. The LG, it appeared to the Court, was of the opinion that the exercise sought to be undertaken by the Delhi government by constituting the Committee, should be put in abeyance to await the outcome of the ongoing court cases in the Supreme Court and High Court, so that comprehensive guidelines made by the NDMA for uniform application in accordance with the Disaster Management Act, 2005, were available.Senior Advocate Manish Vashisht with Advocates Kamal Jindal and Yogesh Aggarwal for the petitioner.Senior Advocate Rahul Mehra with Additional Standing Counsel Gautam Narayan and Advocate Asmita Singh represented the Delhi government.ASG Sanjay Jain with Advocates DP Singh, Arkaj Kumar and Padmesh Mishra appeared for the LG..No reasonable justification for LG to object to HPC looking into cause of deaths during COVID-19 pandemic: Delhi High Court told.[Read Order]