The Gujarat government has filed an affidavit before the Gujarat High Court explaining the delays and challenges in implementation of fire safety norms in the state. According to the Indian Express, at present as of October 25, there were 163 hospitals and 348 schools in municipality jurisdictions that did not have a valid fire NOC.

On October 27, RH Vasava, joint secretary (Fire) of the Gujarat Urban Development and Urban Housing Department, submitted an affidavit before the Gujarat HC saying that the department was facing “genuine difficulties”. IE quotes select excerpts from the affidavit. It said, “During Diwali season the staff members would be preoccupied with inspections as well as answering the fire calls of the temporary structures made for selling firecrackers. Hence, the entire available staff members could not have been associated with the work of issuance of fire NOC.” It further sited difficulty in finding skilled labourers in smaller towns and difficulty in finding competent vendors for installation of good quality fire safety equipment. It also blames the public for understanding importance of fire safety saying, “In smaller towns, the owners/occupiers of the buildings do not spend money on the installation of Fire Safety Systems and n view thereof, it becomes very difficult to explain and at the same time ensure that minimum and necessary Fire Protection Systems are installed so as to provide Fire NOC to such buildings.”

As far as action taken so far goes, the affidavit says, “Against the said non-compliant buildings, the departments concerned have taken action in the form of disconnection of water supply of 48 hospitals and 84 schools; and disconnection of sewage in 14 hospitals and 6 schools.” Previously in September as we had reported in SabrangIndia, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has served final closure notice upon as many as 214 schools for their failure to comply with fire safety norms. The notices were served by the Fire and Emergency Services Department of the AMC as part of a wider exercise to check fire safety compliance in various commercial establishments including but not limited to hospitals, nursing homes, restaurants and hotels. These establishments are required to get fire safety certificates and No Objection Certificates (NOC) from the Fire Department under provisions of the Gujarat Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act 2013 that was amended in 2021.

All of this is significant in light of the Gujarat HC’s tough stand on the subject of fire safety in the state. In its order dated October 13, the court had said it “expects the authorities to act time-bound since the compliance of the fire safety norms is an issue which cannot book delay.” It had also asked the government to prioritise fire safety in hospitals and schools.

On October 28, 20201 though, as the coram had changed, it directed that the PIL not be placed before any coram comprising Justice Aniruddha Mayee. This is because prior to his judgeship, he was Advocate on Record, representing the State of Gujarat before the Supreme Court in a fire safety related matter.

Brief Background of the case

The subject of fire safety had become particularly significant in Ahmedabad in wake of the Shrey Hospital fire of August 6, 2020 that killed eight people recovering from Covid-19 in the ICU. Following this there was another such incidents reported from Rajkot where five Covid-19 patients were killed in November 2020. Yet another fire broke out in the ICU of the Bharuch Welfare Hospital in May 2021, killing 18 people.

Following this, the matter of fire safety became part of a wider litigation that eventually made its way to the Supreme Court. First, Advocate Suhel Tirmizi, whose wife Ayesha was one of the victims of the Shrey Hospital fire, had filed a PIL demanding accountability be fixed on various state and hospital authorities. The Gujarat High Court had passed two significant orders with respect to fire safety.

On December 15, 2020, while passing orders in a batch of Public Interest Litigations (PIL) in connection with the Shrey Hospital fire case, the Gujarat High Court had made a series of pertinent observations and passed orders that are bound to have a far-reaching impact.

The court ordered the State of Gujarat “to enact a consolidated Code/Act/Guidelines for fire safety requirement for clinical establishments/hospitals of all kinds setting out minimum standards of fire safety standards to be maintained by clinical establishments/ hospitals such as across the State of Gujarat.” It also directed the state government “to frame rules and guidelines for fire safety in ICU wards of the hospitals.”

It further ordered all respondent authorities “to comply with the provisions of Gujarat Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act, 2013 strictly in clinical establishments such as Hospital/Nursing Homes/ School buildings of the city of Ahmedabad.”

Significantly, it also directed respondent authorities “to make mandatory installation of sprinkles and a fire extinguisher in every room/ward of every Hospital/Nursing Home irrespective of its height with a view to protect lives of innocent and infirm patients who are not capable of escaping any disaster in case of emergency situations.”

Then on February 26, 2021, the court ordered that all Municipal Corporations mentioned in the PIL be served notice.

It further ordered, “We direct all the Municipal Corporations to place on C/WPPIL/118/2020 ORDER record by way of an affidavit, a list of all the high rise buildings

-15 metres and 18 metres in height, special buildings, schools, hospitals, industries and factories within the jurisdictional limits of all the Municipal Corporations :

a. Which have a valid and subsisting No Objection Certificate with regard to the Fire Prevention and Protection Systems in the State of Gujarat ;

AND b. Which do not have a valid and subsisting No Objection Certificate with regard to the Fire Prevention and Protection Systems in the State of Gujarat”

The Court had ordered, “Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation is directed to place on record by way of an affidavit, the details of all the private hospitals which have not complied with the directions issued in Paragraph No. 23(14) of our earlier Order dated 15.12.2020” and that it was “directed to place on record the photocopies of the No Objection Certificates issued to all the hospitals located within the jurisdictional limits of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation signed and certified by the Competent Authority within a period of 10 days from the date of the receipt of this order. One set of such photocopies shall also be furnished to the party-in-person.”

Specifically, when it came to reopening the Shrey Hospital, the court had on February 26, 2021 ordered, “The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation is directed not to remove or open the seals applied at the premises of the Shrey Hospital without the permission of this Court and shall not permit the Management to once again start with the functioning of the Hospital without the permission of this Court.”

The case in the Supreme Court

Following the Rajkot fire at the Uday Shivananda Hospital, the SC took suo moto cognisance, and in the case titled, In Re: Proper Treatment of COVID-19 Patients and Dignified Handling of Dead Bodies in the Hospitals, etc., asked the government via an order passed on December 9, 2020, to submit a report comprising data from all states on fire safety audits carried out in hospitals.

Meanwhile, the Gujarat government issued an executive notification that gave a virtual carte blanche to hospitals by allowing them to function without adhering to fire safety norms till June 2022, and that no action will be taken against them till then. Given the number of lives lost and the direct involvement of the highest court in the country, this notification showcased the Gujarat government’s impunity. But the Supreme Court took umbrage to this move by the Gujarat state government and stayed the notification.

Shrey Hospital victims’ families demand CBI inquiry

The families of three of the eight people killed in the fire that broke out in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Shrey Hospital in Ahmedabad on the night of August 6, 2020, have moved court demanding that investigation be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The patients were all recovering from Covid and died when the fire broke out around 3 A.M, allegedly due to a short circuit.

Concerns have been raised about the alleged absence of fire-fighting equipment, missing CCTV footage and there are even allegations that no doctors or medical care personnel were present in the ICU at the time of the incident. But the most curious element remains that matter of the missing mobile phones of the victims.

The families of three victims moved Gujarat High Court saying that Ahmedabad Police have failed to investigate crucial pieces of evidence and therefore the probe needs to be moved out of their hands and given to an independent investigative agency.

Related:

Shrey Hospital Fire: Victims’ families move court demanding CBI inquiry

Over 200 Ahmedabad schools served closure notice for violating fire safety norms

Guj gov’t faces heat for submitting report on fire safety in hospitals to SC in sealed cover

Guj HC slams state gov’t for lax attitude to fire safety

The post Fire safety PIL: Guj admin blames staff shortages, logistical issues for lacunae appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has served final closure notice upon as many as 214 schools for their failure to comply with fire safety norms. The notices were served by the Fire and Emergency Services Department of the AMC as part of a wider exercise to check fire safety compliance in various commercial establishments including but not limited to hospitals, nursing homes, restaurants and hotels.

These establishments are required to get fire safety certificates and No Objection Certificates (NOC) from the Fire Department under provisions of the Gujarat Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act 2013 that was amended in 2021. However, as per a statement released by the AMC, “Owners, trustees, managements of these 214 schools have not obtained fire safety certificate, fire NOC or have failed to get these renewed.” They were therefore given seven days to shut down operations.

According to the Indian Express, notices were served to schools in Jamalpur, Shahpur, Panchkuva, Gomtipur, Naroda, Odhav, Maninagar, Prahladnagar, Sabarmati, Bodakdev, Aslali, Jashodanagar, Thaltej and Navrangpura. 

Fire safety in Gujarat

The subject of fire safety had become particularly significant in Ahmedabad in wake of the Shrey Hospital fire of August 6, 2020 that killed eight people recovering from Covid-19 in the ICU. Following this there was another such incidents reported from Rajkot where five Covid-19 patients were killed in November 2020. Yet another fire broke out in the ICU of the Bharuch Welfare Hospital in May 2021, killing 18 people.

Following this, the matter of fire safety became part of a wider litigation that eventually made its way to the Supreme Court. First, Advocate Suhel Tirmizi, whose wife Ayesha was one of the victims of the Shrey Hospital fire, had filed a PIL demanding accountability be fixed on various state and hospital authorities. The Gujarat High Court had passed two significant orders with respect to fire safety.

On December 15, 2020, while passing orders in a batch of Public Interest Litigations (PIL) in connection with the Shrey Hospital fire case, the Gujarat High Court had made a series of pertinent observations and passed orders that are bound to have a far-reaching impact.

The court ordered the State of Gujarat “to enact a consolidated Code/Act/Guidelines for fire safety requirement for clinical establishments/hospitals of all kinds setting out minimum standards of fire safety standards to be maintained by clinical establishments/ hospitals such as across the State of Gujarat.” It also directed the state government “to frame rules and guidelines for fire safety in ICU wards of the hospitals.”

It further ordered all respondent authorities “to comply with the provisions of Gujarat Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act, 2013 strictly in clinical establishments such as Hospital/Nursing Homes/ School buildings of the city of Ahmedabad.”

Significantly, it also directed respondent authorities “to make mandatory installation of sprinkles and a fire extinguisher in every room/ward of every Hospital/Nursing Home irrespective of its height with a view to protect lives of innocent and infirm patients who are not capable of escaping any disaster in case of emergency situations.”

Then on February 26, 2021, the court ordered that all Municipal Corporations mentioned in the PIL be served notice.

It further ordered, “We direct all the Municipal Corporations to place on C/WPPIL/118/2020 ORDER record by way of an affidavit, a list of all the high rise buildings

-15 metres and 18 metres in height, special buildings, schools, hospitals, industries and factories within the jurisdictional limits of all the Municipal Corporations :

a. Which have a valid and subsisting No Objection Certificate with regard to the Fire Prevention and Protection Systems in the State of Gujarat ;

AND b. Which do not have a valid and subsisting No Objection Certificate with regard to the Fire Prevention and Protection Systems in the State of Gujarat”

The Court had ordered, “Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation is directed to place on record by way of an affidavit, the details of all the private hospitals which have not complied with the directions issued in Paragraph No. 23(14) of our earlier Order dated 15.12.2020” and that it was “directed to place on record the photocopies of the No Objection Certificates issued to all the hospitals located within the jurisdictional limits of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation signed and certified by the Competent Authority within a period of 10 days from the date of the receipt of this order. One set of such photocopies shall also be furnished to the party-in-person.”

Specifically, when it came to reopening the Shrey Hospital, the court had on February 26, 2021 ordered, “The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation is directed not to remove or open the seals applied at the premises of the Shrey Hospital without the permission of this Court and shall not permit the Management to once again start with the functioning of the Hospital without the permission of this Court.”

The case in the Supreme Court

Following the Rajkot fire at the Uday Shivananda Hospital, the SC took suo moto cognisance, and in the case titled, In Re: Proper Treatment of COVID-19 Patients and Dignified Handling of Dead Bodies in the Hospitals, etc., asked the government via an order passed on December 9, 2020, to submit a report comprising data from all states on fire safety audits carried out in hospitals.

Meanwhile, the Gujarat government issued an executive notification that gave a virtual carte blanche to hospitals by allowing them to function without adhering to fire safety norms till June 2022, and that no action will be taken against them till then. Given the number of lives lost and the direct involvement of the highest court in the country, this notification showcased the Gujarat government’s impunity. But the Supreme Court took umbrage to this move by the Gujarat state government and stayed the notification.

AMC’s actions

AMC began its crackdown on hospitals and nursing homes first, but expanded its probe into fire safety compliance of other commercial establishments after facing allegations of selectively targeting medical facilities. According to the Indian Express notices have been issued to 42 hospitals and nursing homes, as well as 13 hotels and restaurants so far.

Related:

Guj gov’t faces heat for submitting report on fire safety in hospitals to SC in sealed cover

Guj HC slams state gov’t for lax attitude to fire safety

Gujarat: 18 Covid patients killed in Bharuch hospital fire!

Shrey Hospital Fire: Guj HC bats for greater accountability

SC takes suo moto cognisance of Rajkot Covid Hospital fire

Shrey Hospital Fire: Four months on, no evidence yet!

8 killed in Ahmedabad Covid-19 Hospital Fire

Another fatal inferno in Gujarat Covid hospital!

The post Over 200 Ahmedabad schools served closure notice for violating fire safety norms appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Supreme Court has come down heavily on the Gujarat government for a series of decisions regarding fire safety that appear to be contempt of court. The court also appeared flummoxed at the state government’s decision to submit its report in a sealed cover.

“What is this report in sealed cover? It is not a nuclear secret,” Justice DY Chandrachud was quoted as saying by Bar&Bench. Justice Chandrachud was hearing the case along with Justice MR Shah. The court also took umbrage to the state government’s decision to issue an executive notification that hospitals will not be required to adhere to fire safety norms till 2022.

The Bench slammed the state government, reportedly saying, “Once a mandamus is there, it cannot be overridden by an executive notification like this! You now give a carte blanche and say hospitals don’t have to adhere till 2022 and people will continue dying and be burnt…”

The Court has hearing a suo moto case concerning fire tragedies at Covid Hospitals after two cases in Rajkot and Ahmedabad. SabrangIndia had previously reported on the fire that broke out in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Ahmedabad’s Shrey Hospital leading to the deaths of eight Covid-19 patients on August 6, 2020. Advocate Suhel Tirmizi, whose wife Ayesha was one of the victims, had filed a PIL demanding accountability be fixed on various state and hospital authorities. Then in November 2020, another inferno, this time at a Rajkot Covid care hospital claimed five lives.

Two significant orders by the Gujarat HC

Following this, the Gujarat High Court had passed two significant orders. On December 15, 2020, while passing orders in a batch of Public Interest Litigations (PIL) in connection with the Shrey Hospital fire case, the Gujarat High Court had made a series of pertinent observations and passed orders that are bound to have a far-reaching impact.

The court ordered the State of Gujarat “to enact a consolidated Code/Act/Guidelines for fire safety requirement for clinical establishments/hospitals of all kinds setting out minimum standards of fire safety standards to be maintained by clinical establishments/ hospitals such as across the State of Gujarat.” It also directed the state government “to frame rules and guidelines for fire safety in ICU wards of the hospitals.”

It further ordered all respondent authorities “to comply with the provisions of Gujarat Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act, 2013 strictly in clinical establishments such as Hospital/Nursing Homes/ School buildings of the city of Ahmedabad.”

Significantly, it also directed respondent authorities “to make mandatory installation of sprinkles and a fire extinguisher in every room/ward of every Hospital/Nursing Home irrespective of its height with a view to protect lives of innocent and infirm patients who are not capable of escaping any disaster in case of emergency situations.”

Then on February 26, 2021, the court ordered that all Municipal Corporations mentioned in the PIL be served notice. It further ordered, “We direct all the Municipal Corporations to place on C/WPPIL/118/2020 ORDER record by way of an affidavit, a list of all the high rise buildings

-15 metres and 18 metres in height, special buildings, schools, hospitals, industries and factories within the jurisdictional limits of all the Municipal Corporations :

a. Which have a valid and subsisting No Objection Certificate with regard to the Fire Prevention and Protection Systems in the State of Gujarat ;

AND b. Which do not have a valid and subsisting No Objection Certificate with regard to the Fire Prevention and Protection Systems in the State of Gujarat”

The Court had ordered, “Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation is directed to place on record by way of an affidavit, the details of all the private hospitals which have not complied with the directions issued in Paragraph No. 23(14) of our earlier Order dated 15.12.2020” and that it was “directed to place on record the photocopies of the No Objection Certificates issued to all the hospitals located within the jurisdictional limits of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation signed and certified by the Competent Authority within a period of 10 days from the date of the receipt of this order. One set of such photocopies shall also be furnished to the party-in-person.”

Specifically, when it came to reopening the Shrey Hospital, the court had on February 26, 2021 ordered, “The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation is directed not to remove or open the seals applied at the premises of the Shrey Hospital without the permission of this Court and shall not permit the Management to once again start with the functioning of the Hospital without the permission of this Court.”

The case in the Supreme Court

Following the Rajkot fire at the Uday Shivananda Hospital the SC took suo moto cognizance, and in the case titled, In Re: Proper Treatment of COVID-19 Patients and Dignified Handling of Dead Bodies in the Hospitals, etc., asked the government via an order passed on December 9, 2020, to submit a report comprising data from all states on fire safety audits carried out in hospitals.

Meanwhile, little changed on the ground as yet another fire broke out in the ICU of the Bharuch Welfare Hospital in May this year, killing 18 people. Meanwhile, the Gujarat government issued an executive notification that gave a virtual carte blanche to hospitals by allowing them to function without adhering to fire safety norms till June 2022, and that no action will be taken against them till then. Given the number of lives lost and the direct involvement of the highest court in the country, this notification showcased the Gujarat government’s impunity.

Bar&Bench quoted Justice Shah as saying, “40 hospitals in Gujarat were held liable and they came to High Court. Later, government order was that no action should be taken against hospitals for violation of fire safety. Such an order is a contempt of this court.”

The case has been adjourned for two weeks.

To be updated with order copy.

Related:

Guj HC slams state gov’t for lax attitude to fire safety
Gujarat: 18 Covid patients killed in Bharuch hospital fire!
Shrey Hospital Fire: Guj HC bats for greater accountability
SC takes suo moto cognisance of Rajkot Covid Hospital fire
Shrey Hospital Fire: Four months on, no evidence yet!
8 killed in Ahmedabad Covid-19 Hospital Fire
Another fatal inferno in Gujarat Covid hospital!

The post Guj gov’t faces heat for submitting report on fire safety in hospitals to SC in sealed cover appeared first on SabrangIndia.

On Tuesday, the Gujarat High Court admonished the state government for its lax attitude towards fire safety, reportedly remarking that the government only “wakes up” when the court takes up the issue. The court was hearing a PIL moved by Advocate Amit Panchal.

A division bench of Justices Bela Trivedi and Bhargav Karia also sought reports from the state government and municipal corporations detailing compliance, non-compliance or partial compliance with respect to two sets of directions issued by the court on December 15, 2020 and February 26, 2021 on the issue of fire safety.

The Indian Express reported the court’s oral remarks to Advocate General Kamal Trivedi. The court reportedly said, “You’ve woken up only after the court issued notices and passed orders… so many buildings (are) without BU (building use) permissions and (fire) NOCs… and this is going on since years!” The court further asked, “There were specific directions given to corporations, to nagarpalikas, to everyone, to see to it that all provisions are strictly complied with. Why are no actions being taken?” 

SabrangIndia had previously reported on the matter related to the fire that had broken out in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Ahmedabad’s Shrey Hospital leading to the deaths of eight Covid-19 patients on August 6, 2020. Advocate Suhel Tirmizi, whose wife Ayesha was one of the victims, had filed a PIL demanding accountability be fixed on various state and hospital authorities.

December 15, 2020 order of the Gujarat High Court

On December 15, while passing orders in a batch of Public Interest Litigations (PIL) in connection with the Shrey Hospital fire case, the Gujarat High Court had made a series of pertinent observations and passed orders that are bound to have a far-reaching impact.

The court ordered the State of Gujarat “to enact a consolidated Code/Act/Guidelines for fire safety requirement for clinical establishments/hospitals of all kinds setting out minimum standards of fire safety standards to be maintained by clinical establishments/ hospitals such as across the State of Gujarat.” It also directed the state government “to frame rules and guidelines for fire safety in ICU wards of the hospitals.”

It further ordered all respondent authorities “to comply with the provisions of Gujarat Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act, 2013 strictly in clinical establishments such as Hospital/Nursing Homes/ School buildings of the city of Ahmedabad.”

Significantly, it also directed respondent authorities “to make mandatory installation of sprinkles and a fire extinguisher in every room/ward of every Hospital/Nursing Home irrespective of its height with a view to protect lives of innocent and infirm patients who are not capable of escaping any disaster in case of emergency situations.”

February 26, 2021 order of the Gujarat High Court

On February 26, the court ordered that all Municipal Corporations mentioned in the PIL be served notice. It further ordered, “We direct all the Municipal Corporations to place on C/WPPIL/118/2020 ORDER record by way of an affidavit, a list of all the high rise buildings

-15 metres and 18 metres in height, special buildings, schools, hospitals, industries and factories within the jurisdictional limits of all the Municipal Corporations :

a. Which have a valid and subsisting No Objection Certificate with regard to the Fire Prevention and Protection Systems in the State of Gujarat ;

AND b. Which do not have a valid and subsisting No Objection Certificate with regard to the Fire Prevention and Protection Systems in the State of Gujarat”

The court also ordered, “We direct the Municipal Commissioners of all the Municipal Corporations to state on affidavit what action has been taken by the Municipal Corporations against the erring high rise buildings – 15 metres and 18 metres in height, special buildings, schools, hospitals, industries and factories within the jurisdictional limits of all the Municipal Corporations, which do not have a valid and subsisting No Objection Certificate.”

When it comes to the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, the Court had ordered, “Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation is directed to place on record by way of an affidavit, the details of all the private hospitals which have not complied with the directions issued in Paragraph No. 23(14) of our earlier Order dated 15.12.2020” and that it was “directed to place on record the photocopies of the No Objection Certificates issued to all the hospitals located within the jurisdictional limits of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation signed and certified by the Competent Authority within a period of 10 days from the date of the receipt of this order. One set of such photocopies shall also be furnished to the party-in-person.”

Specifically, when it came to reopening the Shrey Hospital, the court had on February 26, 2021 ordered, “The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation is directed not to remove or open the seals applied at the premises of the Shrey Hospital without the permission of this Court and shall not permit the Management to once again start with the functioning of the Hospital without the permission of this Court.”

Related:

Shrey Hospital Fire: Guj HC bats for greater accountability

SC takes suo moto cognisance of Rajkot Covid Hospital fire

Shrey Hospital Fire: Four months on, no evidence yet!

8 killed in Ahmedabad Covid-19 Hospital Fire

Another fatal inferno in Gujarat Covid hospital!

The post Guj HC slams state gov’t for lax attitude to fire safety appeared first on SabrangIndia.

On December 15, while passing orders in a batch of Public Interest Litigations (PIL) in connection with the Shrey Hospital fire case, the Gujarat High Court made a series of pertinent observations and passed orders that are bound to have a far-reaching impact. On August 6, 2020 a fire had broken out in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital leading to the deaths of eight Covid-19 patients.

A bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Ilesh Vora passed order saying, “That pending the hearing and final disposal of the present Petition, this Hon’ble Court be pleased to permit the relatives of the victims of Shrey Hospital Fire mishap to conduct a third party survey of the ICCU Ward through a team consisting of retired fire safety officials.” The bench further ordered the respondent authorities “to offer adequate ex-gratia compensation to the relatives of the victims of Shrey Hospital Fire incident dated 6th August 2020.”

Advocate Suhel Tirmizi, whose wife Ayesha was one of the victims had filed a PIL demanding accountability be fixed on various state and hospital authorities. Taking note of his grievances, the court noted that “writ-applicant no.1 is a practicing advocate of this High Court and his wife had to be admitted at the Shrey Hospital in connection with kidney ailment. The wife of the writ-applicant no.1 was to be discharged within a day, but unfortunately she lost her life along with seven others in the fire that engulfed the entire ICU of the Shrey Hospital.” It further noted that “the writ-applicants as the kith and kin of the victims are anxious to know as to who is responsible for this fire. They would like to know from the State Government, whether the accountability of any particular person has been fixed in this regard. They would also like to know from the State Government as to whether the culprits responsible for this have been booked and punished or not so far.”

The court was also shocked to discover that the “building plans in which the Shrey Hospital is running originally was a residential building. In other words, the Corporation had sanctioned the plan as a residential complex, but later revised the same for commercial use upon acceptance of the impact fee.”

The court also took note of government pleader Ms. ML Shah’s submission that “the State Government is doing its best to ensure that the incidents like the one at the Shrey Hospital, does not occur in future on account of lack of adequate fire-fighting measures and other shortcomings in the buildings.” The court noted, “According to Ms. Shah, the State Government is duty-bound to fix the accountability of all the erring persons responsible for the unfortunate incident and will see to it that the guilty persons are proceeded in accordance with law.”

The court ordered the State of Gujarat “to enact a consolidated Code/Act/Guidelines for fire safety requirement for clinical establishments/hospitals of all kinds setting out minimum standards of fire safety standards to be maintained by clinical establishments/ hospitals such as across the State of Gujarat.” It also directed the state government “to frame rules and guidelines for fire safety in ICU wards of the hospitals.”

It further ordered all respondent authorities “to comply with the provisions of Gujarat Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act, 2013 strictly in clinical establishments such as Hospital/Nursing Homes/ School buildings of the city of Ahmedabad.”

Significantly, it also directed respondent authorities “to make mandatory installation of sprinkles and a fire extinguisher in every room/ward of every Hospital/Nursing Home irrespective of its height with a view to protect lives of innocent and infirm patients who are not capable of escaping any disaster in case of emergency situations.”

The entire order may be read here: 

Related:

Shrey Hospital Fire: Four months on, no evidence yet!
Shrey Hospital Fire: Civil society demands CBI inquiry
Shrey Hospital Fire: The curious case of the missing phones
Shrey Hospital case: Victims’ families demand CBI inquiry
Ayesha Tirmizi was recovering when her life was cut short

The post Shrey Hospital Fire: Guj HC bats for greater accountability appeared first on SabrangIndia.