NEW DELHI: A plea was moved in the Delhi High Court on Friday seeking contempt action against Delhi government's chief and health secretaries as also medical director of LNJP Hospital for not adhering to the undertaking and directions related to handling of bodies of COVID-19 patients lying on the hospital premises.
The contempt petition, which has impleaded Delhi Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary of Health Department and Medical Director of LNJP Hospital as parties, is likely to come up for hearing on June 15.
Advocate Awadh Kaushik, in his contempt plea, alleged that the bodies of the dead are lying in the same wards and corridors of the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital in Delhi, where COVID-19 patients are being admitted and kept.
The plea and referred to news videos showing "shocking, disturbing and shameful" pictures of naked bodies and unconscious patients laying on bare floor in the COVID-19 wards.
The plea said these officials have breached their own undertaking regarding bodies of COVID-19 patients since they have repeatedly assured the court that no bodies are lying in the ward and corridors of the hospital. However, it said that the videos shown by the media are horrible.
The plea sought direction to the authorities to explain the conduct for committing contempt of court by not complying with their own undertaking and not complying with the directions and also sought initiation of action against them.
It sought to constitute a committee of experts including doctors and advocates or any other person to forthwith an inspection in LNJP Hospital to access the current situation of patients admitted there and bodies lying and submit a report for fixing liability of the delinquent officers.
It added that the authorities be directed to take immediate remedial steps to provide adequate treatment to COVID-19 patients admitted in the hospitals and to remove the bodies lying in the wards and corridors, as per the procedure.
The high court had recently taken suo motu (on its own) cognisance over the dilapidated state of the crematoriums as well as piling up of bodies at the LNJP hospital here. It has been monitoring the implementation of AAP government's order relating to handling of bodies of those who died of COVID 19.
The Delhi government had given an assurance that this was only a one-time situation and all steps were being taken by them to ensure the timely disposal of the dead bodies and their cremation, the plea pointed out.
However, the contempt petition filed against the authorities cited recent news reports showing videos of bodies or unconscious patients lying on the floor of the wards of the hospital, without any attendant or staff to take care of them or send the bodies to mortuary or for cremation.