BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday expressed displeasure over the approach of the state government in appointing a retired judge on its own to probe the deaths of 24 patients at the government Covid hospital at Chamarajanagar due to alleged shortage of oxygen.
When the matter was taken up by a division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Aravind Kumar for hearing during a special sitting, Advocate General Prabhuling K Navadagi submitted that the state government has taken cognisance of the order passed by the court and appointed Justice BA Patil, a retired judge of the High Court, to probe the deaths.
The court said that the government, in all fairness, has to leave the choice of appointment of the judge to it, while clarifying that it is not against the judge who was appointed but against the approach of the government.
The Advocate General submitted that there was some correction in the order and he will come back with instructions in the afternoon.
On Tuesday, the court indicated that this is a fit case to appoint a retired judge of the high court to probe under the Commissions of Inquiry Act.
Meanwhile, in a setback to the state government, the court directed the Chief Secretary to seize the entire records pertaining to the supply of oxygen at the Covid hospital at Chamarajanagar and provide access to those records to the officer appointed to carry out the probe.
The court also directed the Secretary of the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority to provide a copy of the report submitted by the Chairman of the District Legal Services Authority on the deaths at Chamarajanagar to the Advocate General.
This apart, the court sought a response from the BBMP on the alleged hospital bed blocking scam.