CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Monday took exception to the state government’s affidavit which apart from being evasive tried to impart to the court a lesson on the basics of the Orissa Fire Prevention and Safety Act instead of filing an affidavit complying with the direction issued on August 14, 2023.
The division bench of Chief Justice Subhasis Talapatra and Justice Savitri Ratho said the state authorities have filed a short affidavit. They were asked to file a detailed affidavit along with a comprehensive plan for safety measures required at SCB Medical College and Hospital and proper design for fire safety measures.
“But instead of filing a comprehensive affidavit dealing with the two important aspects, a very short affidavit has been filed giving a brief outline about what is required under Rule 13 and 14 (2) of Orissa Fire Prevention & Fire Safety Act 2017”, the bench observed.
The bench added, “We are really constrained to observe that we did not ask for the lesson of the rules. We wanted build-up of the appropriate fire safety measures in the SCB MCH supported by a well-coordinated network of CCTV cameras”.
However, when state counsel DK Mohanty requested to be allowed to file a better affidavit, the division bench granted time till September 26 as the last opportunity to file a comprehensive affidavit in terms of the Court’s August 14 order.
The court was hearing a PIL, filed by Maitree Sansad, a socio-cultural organisation, on inadequate fire safety measures at the SCB MCH. The bench directed for listing of the matter on September 29 for further consideration.
As per the petition, the prevailing situation at the hospital with a 2,600-bed capacity could lead to disastrous consequences with not enough fire extinguishers available. A special team of Orissa Fire Services had suggested remedial measures.