State Government | SabrangIndia

Hindus as minority: Centre flip-flops on power to notify minority status

Tue, 10 May 2022 13:18:08 +0000

Revising its earlier affidavit, the central government on May 10, 2022 said that it had the power to notify minorities, but requires time to consult with state governments and other stakeholders. In the earlier affidavit to the Supreme Court, it had said that states can declare Hindus as a minority if they are numerically less in number.

The government took this decision to avoid “unintended complications in future”. The Ministry of Minority Affairs said that the decision has far-reaching ramifications throughout India and as such requires detailed deliberations.

The court recorded the Centre’s submission in its order as “… the question involved in this writ petition has far reaching ramifications throughout the Country and therefore any stand taken without detailed deliberations with stakeholders may result in unintended complications throughout the country.”

Meanwhile, the Indian Express reported Justice S K Kaul, presiding over a two-judge bench comprising Justice M M Sundresh, said that the Centre seemed to be backing out of what was stated earlier. He stressed that the court did not appreciate this.

The document was filed in response to a plea by Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay who sought minority status for practitioners of Hinduism, Bahaism and Judaism, in states like Mizoram, Kashmir, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Punjab, Manipur and union territories of Ladakh and Lakshadweep, reported LiveLaw.

According to the Indian Express, Upadhyay had first approached the top court with the demand for minority status for Hindus in 2017, and was sent to the National Commission For Minorities (NCM). The NCM told Upadhyay that only the Centre could grant the relief he was seeking. Accordingly, his current petition questioned the competence of the Parliament to enact the NCM Act 1992 and NCM Educational Institutions Act 2004 and the Centre’s powers to notify minorities.

The Ministry’s previous affidavit filed on March 28 said that Hindus in some states may be notified as a minority for the purposes of Articles 29 and 30 by concerned governments. Since states have the power to notify minorities, the argument that ‘real minorities’ in specified states are denied the protection of minority rights is untenable, the Centre said. As examples, it talked about states notifying religious and linguistic minorities.

The fresh three-page affidavit by Ministry Secretary Renuka Kumar said, “Though the power is vested with the central government to notify minorities, the stand to be formulated by the central government with regard to issues raised in this group of petitions will be finalised after having a wide consultation with the state governments and other stakeholders. This will ensure that the central government is able to place a considered view before this court taking into consideration several sociological and other aspects obviating any unintended complications in future with regard to such a vital issue.”

Earlier, the court fined the Centre with ₹ 7,500 for delay in complying. The Centre then sought to shift the onus on states and asked to dismiss Upadhyay’s plea. The Ministry said, “The reliefs sought by the petitioner are not in larger public or national interest.”

However on March 28, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta again sought time from a bench presided by Justice S K Kaul to submit a new affidavit. The court granted him four weeks, which again the Centre failed to comply with and submitted the document on March 9, a day before the scheduled date of hearing.

On Tuesday, a bench headed by Justice SK Kaul heard the matter. On the previous hearing date, the bench sought clarity as to which Ministry should respond – the Ministry of Home Affairs or the Ministry of Minority Affairs? The former is arrayed as the first respondent in the case but has no role in the matter because the NCM and NCM for Minority Educational Institutions come under the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Minority Affairs respectively.

The post Hindus as minority: Centre flip-flops on power to notify minority status appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Assam: Day 1 of eviction in Hojai passes peacefully

Mon, 08 Nov 2021 11:45:52 +0000

People Packing up their belonging and leaving with their families

The Assam state government began its eviction drive in the Lumding Reserve Forest spread over 22,403 acres of land in Hojai district today. Domesticated elephants and JCB machines were used to demolish huts in the Kamorpani and Hajongbasti settlements.

Over 1,000 personnel of Assam Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were deployed fearing an outbreak of violence. But the settlers vacated their homes voluntarily after authorities spoke to them.

“The families hail from Garo and Hajong tribes as well as the Chakma community. Some are also Muslim families. They used to live in Kamorpani and Hajongbasti settlements within the forest. But after authorities spoke to them, they willingly packed up and left,” local people told Nanda Ghosh, the Assam state team in-charge for Citizens for Justice and Peace, SabrangIndia’s sister organisation.

Here are a few images of the evicted families taken by the CJP team in Hojai:

Evicted families pause to catch a breath after vacating their homes

Settlement of people within Lumding Reserve Forest

Lumding Block Congress president Rudra Kanta Tamuli and Udali Block Congress president Misbaul Haque visited the area. They told SabrangIndia, “People had gathered their belonging and left their homes even before the administration arrived to demolish their huts.”

Misbaul Haque added, “The evicted people are now going to be rehabilitated in Janju and Dekabasti villages located about 7 kms from their now demolished settlement.” Meanwhile, human rights activists asked the more important questions that have sprung up in wake of the Assam state government’s eviction drives.

Renowned Social worker Arup Baisya asked, “If the Right to Life is a constitutional right, then aren’t the right to food, clothing and shelter also basic human rights?” He further asked, “If eviction of families from Lumding Reserve Forest is a legal obligation as directed by the High Court, is it not the obligation of the government to rehabilitate the evicted people?”

This second question is significant because though the evicted people were verbally assured of rehabilitation and have now shifted to Janju and Dekabasti, there is no commitment to this effect in writing. Infact, the Assam state government had recently submitted before the Gauhati High Court that though it had set aside 1,000 acres of land for rehabilitation of evicted families, their eligibility for rehabilitation was contingent upon their names appearing in the National Register of Citizens (NRC), proof that they were landless in the places from where their families had originally migrated, and proof that the landlessness was the result of river erosion.

The aim of the drive that began Monday and will also continue on Tuesday, was to evict 640 families who had allegedly illegally encroached upon roughly 500 hectares of forest land. As per government estimates roughly 3,000 people have “illegally encroached” upon 1,410 hectares of forest land. The state government had submitted an elaborate phase-wise plan for eviction before the Gauhati High Court in September. According to this plan that was also recorded in the court order dated September 14, “In the action plan prepared by the State authority under the first phase of eviction, which will last for 5 days, it will be undertaken during October 2021 to November 2021 and in 2nd phase, which will last for 4 days, it will be undertaken during November 2021 to December 2021 and under the 3rd phase which will last for 5 days, will be conducted during January 2022 to February 2022.”

The post Assam: Day 1 of eviction in Hojai passes peacefully appeared first on SabrangIndia.

K’taka HC directs state gov’t to come up with scholarship for children of manual scavengers

Tue, 05 Oct 2021 04:02:17 +0000

Image Courtesy:thenewsminute.com

The Karnataka High Court has directed the state government to come up with a scheme to grant scholarships to children of those who died due to manual scavenging, as also providing compassionate appointment to their legal heirs under Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, reported LiveLaw.

Section 13 of the Act provides for rehabilitation of persons identified as manual scavengers and under sub-section (1)(b) states that the children of a manual scavenger shall be entitled to scholarship as per the relevant scheme of the Central Government or the State Government or the local authorities.

Notably, this section does not concern itself with just those manual scavengers who have died, but all such persons identified as manual scavengers in the final list of manual scavengers published in pursuance of sub-section (6) of section 11 or added thereto in pursuance of sub-section (3) of section 12 of the Act.

The bench of Acting Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum has directed the government to come up with a uniform scheme in this regard as there is a lot of disparity in paying scholarship.

The counsel of the petitioner, All India Central Council Of Trade Unions, informed the court that in the compliance report submitted by the state government under the head of scholarship, an amount of Rs 1,000 is mentioned while in some cases Rs. 10,000 has been given by the state. Hence there is lack of clarity whether the amount is paid monthly or yearly or as a one time measure.

To this, the court responded that if the lump sum is Rs. 1,000 then it is an eye wash and the Rs.10,000 whether it is yearly or monthly in unclear.

The court has thus directed the state government to come up with a proper uniform scheme in this regard within 30 days. It also directed the state to complete within two months the survey for identifying and rehabilitating manual scavengers.

Specific incidents

The incident in Ramanagara that took place on June 4 took lives of 3 manual scavengers and the court has directed the state government to provide the family of the deceased with employment within a period of thirty days, reported LiveLaw.

Further in respect to the incident in Kalaburgi of January, where 2 manual scavengers lost their lives, casual appointment was granted to the legal heirs of those deceased. The court however pointed out that casual appointment can come to an end at any time and that they should be given training for some alternative profession/vocation as stipulated under section 13(1)(d).

While the continuous monitoring of the court in this regard is appreciated, it is not the mandate of the law. In clear terms, the Act has assigned functions to public servants to implement the provisions under the Act. The Court is simply passing directions on those lines to ensure that the families of manual scavengers receive the reliefs that are entitled to them under the Act. Especially in terms of rehabilitation, the District Magistrate is assigned with the task to ensure rehabilitation or any such subordinate officers or the concerned Municipality

Failure to provide safety equipment

The court was informed by Senior Advocate Jayna Kothari that the state has been non-compliant wit respect to providing necessary safety equipments at the local bodies as enumerated in the Rules under the Act. Rule 3, framed under the Act, provides for obligations of the employer towards employees engaged in the cleaning of sewer or septic tank and provision of safety equipment.

At the last hearing, on August 30, the court had directed the state to file a detailed chart in respect of equipment available with the corporations in terms of the Act of 2013. However, the state failed to file the same and hence the court has granted 30-days time to file the same.

Manual scavenging deaths

During the monsoon session, the Raja Sabha was informed by the Minister of Social Justice and Employment, Virendra Kumar, that 941 deaths related to cleaning sewers and septic tanks have been recorded across 21 States and Union Territories, but there are no reports of death due to manual scavenging.

He further stated that as per the two surveys conducted by the local authorities in 2013 and 2018, as many as 58,098 persons have been identified as manual scavengers.

The story will be updated with the order

The post K’taka HC directs state gov’t to come up with scholarship for children of manual scavengers appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Covid-19: VHA demands sufficient beds and Maha gov’t help

Thu, 29 Jul 2021 12:03:59 +0000

Image Courtesy:medicalbuyer.co.in

Vidarbha Hospital Association (VHA) has raised two key issues that stand in the way of providing proper care to Covid-19 patients: first, the mismatch in the number of beds available, and second, the difficulty in maintaining economic feasibility in the absence of gov’t assistance.

Speaking to SabrangIndia, VHA Secretary Alok Umre voiced concern about Maharashtra government’s recent new hospital rules that called for a huge increase in hospital registration fees. The VHA is set to file a high court petition with Dr. Pradeep Arora to condemn the sudden hike in prices.

“I don’t understand why should fee registration be increased? Where will hospitals recover these costs? From patients? Then, they will say private hospitals have increased costs. They do not know what is happening here,” said Umre.

According to media reports, the new rules increase the earlier fee of Rs. 250 for the entire hospital to a staggering Rs. 1,000 for a single hospital bed. This means that a hospital boasting 100 beds will have to pay an annual amount of Rs. 1 lakh just for the renewal and registration of the same.

Further the rules call for structural changes that will be difficult to implement even for well-functioning private hospitals. As Umre pointed out, the main concern is that the burden of such costs will fall on patients, cutting off certain groups from private healthcare.

A need for a centralised bed allocation system

When asked about a potential third wave of Covid-19, Umre urged everyone to follow social distancing guidelines. He also requested government authorities to increase the number of government hospital beds.

A Covid-19 patient requiring oxygen is bed-ridden anywhere between 5-15 days. This creates a severe shortage of beds for Covid and non-Covid patients even though the medical staff works relentlessly.

As such, the VHA asked the state government to create a centralised bed allocation system like the Huoshenshan hospital in Wuhan, China that was specially designed for Covid-19 patients. District hospitals can be converted to such hospitals and their beds capacity can be increased to 1,000 beds or so.

An additional benefit of this is that patients will not have to travel across the district to avail a bed. In Nagpur, where the VHA is based, private and government hospitals are spread across the city. So, patients ended up travelling where there were no Covid-19 cases.

“We have limited beds and unlimited patients. This imbalance needs to be addressed,” he said.

Hospitals struggling to bear financial costs

The government rules under the January 14 notification are especially worrisome after the second-wave of Covid-19. Hospitals across the country are recovering from the sudden surge in demand for equipment and supplies.

For example, many hospitals complained and condemned the huge increase in oxygen cylinder prices. While the media talked about free oxygen tankers provided by the central government, Umre said that the cost of these tanks was passed on to hospitals. These charges were four-fold of their original amount.

He asked, “Prices increased from around Rs. 170 to over Rs. 500 for oxygen cylinders. They cited transport charges etc. How are we to pay for this?”

The VHA demanded that the state government either cease the increase of oxygen prices or assist hospitals to incur costs. It may be mentioned that with this as the background, the central government during the Parliament’s monsoon session said “there were no deaths due to lack of oxygen” in India.

Further, the second wave reported more incidents of violence against hospital personnel. All over India, there were reports of mobs breaking into hospital to harm staff or equipment.

On July 23, the VHA sent a letter to Nagpur Commissioner of Police to highlight the attacks on healthcare staff. In it, they cited a recent Bombay High Court decision that called for creation of district-wise committees of doctors.

“We would like to be enlightened about the existence and composition of a valid committee in our city. All field police personnel need to be alerted that any steps or decisions taken without support of appropriate jurisdictive scrutiny by such a constitutionally valid committee will be considered illegal,” said the VHA.

Umre said the organisation received a reassuring response from the city police in this regard and thanked the Commissioner for the noted decrease of hospital violence in Nagpur since then. Incidentally, the VHA had filed an FIR against violence on doctors which was in the interest of all those medical personnel who suffered due to a mob earlier this year.

“Every hospital was trying to do its best. Why did they try to set fire to Hope hospital? We demand a safe environment to work in. I think it is a very legitimate right of any hospital to demand a safe atmosphere,” said Umre.

The mention of fire was in reference to an April incident when family members of a deceased Covid-19 patient tried to set the hospital on fire in a fit of rage.

Bio-Medical Waste management

Aside from such blanket issues, Vidarbha hospitals recently complained of problems on the waste disposal front. On July 20, the VHA wrote to the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) about the incomplete Bio-Medical Waste (BMW) collection from a few hospitals in Nagpur.

The letter said that the Superb Hygienic Disposals (SHD), responsible for BMW pick-up, transportation and disposal had failed its duties in the past one month. This grossly violated the maximum prescribed time-limit of 48 hours as per BMW Management Rules.

“This prolonged storage of BMW owing to non/partial pick up is potentially very hazardous to health workers and patients/relatives etc. After a lot of communications, the waste is slowly being cleared now. If this continues, we wish to reiterate that Superb Hygienic Disposals, owing to their callous attitude, will be solely responsible for any biohazard that may happen,” said the letter, detailing the company as a repeated offender.

The SHD on its part cited payment issues from hospitals’ end. To this, Umre told SabrangIndia, “They collected over one lakh rupees from each hospital. These prices are capped by the government that the company has priorly committed to. But during Covid-19, they charged us extra.”

Umre said that many hospitals ended up paying the charges due to the pressing circumstances. However, those who refused now reported inefficient services from the SHD. The VHA stated that even if the claim was genuine, the company still cannot suspend its services.

Meanwhile, the MPCB said that such issues are in the purview of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation. According to Umre, NMC Assistant Commissioner Ram Joshi has promised to look into the matter.

The VHA demanded that the SHD return to its original service rates as per the MoU between it and the Indian Medical Association.

“Rather than suspending services partially or completely, the VHA advised the company to seek legal recourse, in larger public interest,” said the medical organisation.

The post Covid-19: VHA demands sufficient beds and Maha gov’t help appeared first on SabrangIndia.

No detention centres inside jail premises: Patna HC

Mon, 26 Jul 2021 04:03:48 +0000

Image Courtesy:news18.com

During the hearing on April 7, the Division bench of Justices Shivaji Pandey and Partha Sarthy of the Patna High Court asked the Centre to apprise the court of what measures are taken when the native country is not ready to take back illegal migrants. When the amicus curiae informed the bench that illegal migrants are supposed to be kept in detention centres, the court directed the state government to file an affidavit on whether any such detention centre has been created by the state government for illegal migrants.

Background

Two Bangladeshi migrants Marium Khatoon @ Mariyam Parveen and Ms. Mausmi Khatoon, were arrested from Patna Railway station a few years ago and have been kept in an After Care Home, without any criminal case being lodged against them.

The court was informed by Additional Solicitor General of India, Dr. KN Singh that a letter had been sent to the Bangladeshi Embassy for their repatriation, but no response was received. While the counsel for the State submitted to the court that the petitioners were being kept in After Care Home called Nari Niketan in proper manner and there is no such complaint that they are being kept in very bad manner, the counsel for the petitioners pointed out that he was not allowed to take Power (power of attorney) from the petitioner. Thus, the court found it necessary to ensure that the petitioners are treated in a good manner and constituted a team of three Advocates; one male Advocate and two female Advocates, to know about the fact that in what manner they are being kept in After Care Home.

The court directed them to visit the Home on April 10 and directed that during such interaction with the petitioners, there will be no intervention from any official or any person. The court emphasized that any intervention would be taken seriously and the court will issue contempt against any such person.

The amicus curiae, Ashish Giri, submitted to the court that such illegal migrants cannot be kept in the After Care Home for a longer but, they should be shifted in Holding Centre or Detention Centre. The court then directed the state government to inform whether any such detention centre has been set up to deal with illegal migrants found in Bihar. The court had also sought response from the Central government on the status of their communication with Bangladeshi Embassy for repatriation of the petitioners and also sought response on how illegal migrants are to be dealt with if the native country is not ready to accept them back.

The April 7 order may be read here:

During the hearing held on April 26, the committee of the three lawyers submitted their report, in which it was mentioned that the migrants did not raise any grievance of bad treatment and are being provided with basic right to food, cloth and shelter as well as medical assistance. The report also stated that with the exception of Marium Khatoon, the rest of them want to return to their homeland after proper assistance and approval from the government. Khatoon wishes to be rehabilitated in India itself.

About detention centres in the state, the government in its affidavit stated that in jail premises itself the migrants have been kept separately, so that should be treated as a Detention Centre and also an effort is being made to create a Detention Centre inside Beur Jail.

The court, dissatisfied with this response, said, “Detention Centre cannot be created inside the jail premises, rather it should be created in terms of the instruction given by the Central Government giving detail the manner the State has to create Detention Centre, so it is primary duty to create Detention Centre with that terms.” The court then sought a more detailed response from the state on this matter.

It is pertinent to note here that all the 6 detention camps in Assam which house ‘declared foreigners’ operate out of makeshift facilities in local prisons and function as per provisions laid down in the Assam jail manual. These are located in Goalpara, Tezpur, Kokrajhar, Dibrugarh, Silchar and Jorhat.

When the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) failed to respond to the court’s query, the court warned that if a proper affidavit is not filed, contempt will be issued against the concerned official.

While concluding the order, the court observed, “As it is a very serious matter that three Bangladeshi girls entered into India and they are being kept in Nari Niketan, not in Detention Centre. As the Government of Bihar has failed to create Detention Centre.”

Therefore the court ordered, “A detailed affidavit should be filed by the Union of India especially by the State of Bihar with respect to creation of Detention Centre for foreign national.”

The April 26 order may be read here:

It is pertinent to note here that in January 2019, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had issued “Model Detention Centre/ Holding Centre Manual” to all state governments and Union Territories for implementation and compliance. While the document has not been made public, the responses provided to the questions asked during Parliament sessions give insight into what this document entails.

On July 16, 2019, in response to questions raised by TN Prathapan, the MHA elaborated on the provisions of the ‘Model’ detention center manual saying, “The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued a ‘Model Detention Centre/Holding Centre/Camp Manual’ for implementation and compliance. The Model Detention Centre Manual, inter-alia, prescribes the amenities to be provided in the Detention Centres to maintain standards of living in consonance with human dignity including electricity with generator, drinking water, hygiene, accommodation with beds, sufficient toilets/baths with provisions of running water, communication and medical facilities, provisions for kitchen and recreational facilities.”

In another response on July 24, 2019 the MHA additionally stated that the manual “also provides for provision of properly segregated accommodation for male and female detainees, deployment of adequate lady security staff commensurate with the requirement of women detainees, special attention to the women/ nursing mother etc. It has also been provided that members of the same family should not be separated and all family members may be housed in the same detention centre.”

The post No detention centres inside jail premises: Patna HC appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Rajasthan HC asks why Pak minority migrants not given Covid vaccine despite court orders

Sat, 05 Jun 2021 07:46:08 +0000

Image Courtesy:livelaw.in

The Rajasthan High Court has asked the State Government to explain their reasons for excluding the Pakistani minority migrants for vaccination against Covid-19, despite court orders.

At the last hearing on May 28, the court had granted time to the Additional Advocate General, K.S. Rajpurohit, to furnish details regarding the steps taken by the Government in every District for “Covid-19 Vaccination of Persons without prescribed Identity Cards through CoWIN”. But the Bench of Justices Vijay Bishnoi and Rameshwar Vyas noted that the government failed to file a compliance report in this regard.

The Court observed that after its order on May 28, a letter had been written by the National Health Mission, Medical, Health and Family Welfare Department, Government of Rajasthan to the Health and Family Welfare Ministry, Government of India requesting them to include the Pakistani minority migrants in the Standard Operating Procedure which deals with “Covid-19 Vaccination of Persons without prescribed Identity Cards through CoWIN.”

To this, the court remarked, “It is noticed that once this Court in its order dated 28.05.2021 has already opined that SOP dated 06.05.2021 is not excluding the Pakistani Minority Migrants, who are eligible for Covid-19 vaccination, then it is difficult to understand that why the State Government is seeking further clarification from the Central Government and requesting it to include the Pakistani Minority Migrants in the SOP dated 06.05.2021.”

The Amicus Curiae in this case, Sajjan Singh, appearing for Pakistani minority migrants, informed the court that even those Pakistani minority migrants, who have been declared as Indian citizens are not getting vaccinated because they don’t have Aadhaar cards. As far as the ration/food packets are concerned, the same are being made available to groups residing only in Jodhpur. In other districts such as Jaisalmer, Barmer and Jaipur, no such ration/food packets are available.

The Bench took cognisance of this and said, “We are forced to direct the Chief Secretary, Government of Rajasthan, Jaipur to submit a detailed affidavit regarding the steps taken by the State Government in every District as per the procedure given in Clause-5 of the SOP dated 06.05.2021 and also to explain that why the State Government is not treating the Pakistani Minority Migrants, who are not having prescribed identity cards, eligible for Covid-19 vaccination though this Court vide order dated 28.05.2021 has already clarified that such Pakistani Minority Migrants are eligible for Covid-19 vaccination as per the SOP dated 06.05.2021.”

The Bench has also asked for a report regarding availability of ration kits. The matter has been listed for hearing on June 10.

The order may be read here:

The post Rajasthan HC asks why Pak minority migrants not given Covid vaccine despite court orders appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Don’t clampdown on online Covid SOS calls by citizens: SC warns state govt’s

Fri, 30 Apr 2021 12:47:04 +0000

Image Courtesy:newsclick.in

A three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court has made it amply clear that strict action will be taken against those who clampdown on citizens seeking help or communicating their grievances on social media with respect to oxygen cylinders or any other medical resources to treat Covid-19 patients.

News sources quoted Justice Dr. DY Chandrachud saying, “I flag this issue at the outset. We want to make it very clear that if citizens communicate their grievances on social media and the internet then it cannot be said to be wrong information. We don’t want any clampdown of information. We will treat it as a contempt of court if such grievances are considered for action. Let a strong message go to all the states and DGP of states.”

Justice Ravindra Bhat pointed out how medical professionals have been overburdened with this crisis. “Medical professionals are reaching a breaking point. We cannot just say they are Covid warriors. Look at how nurses are dying. They play a vital role. It is time we speak about them and express gratitude,” he said, tweeted LiveLaw. He urged Tushar Mehta, to use his powers as Solicitor General to ensure that medical professionals are paid more.

Vaccination Policy

The Supreme Court questioned the Centre on why it is not following a ‘national immunisation policy’, flagging concerns about exclusion of Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe and disenfranchised people from vaccination coverage, reported LiveLaw.

Justice Chandrachud asked the SG, “How will the Centre ensure registration for vaccines for illiterate people considering the fact that COWIN app registration is mandatory?” The Bench also posed questions regarding vaccine pricing. Justice Bhat was quoted saying, “Manufacturers are charging Rs. 150 from the Centre but Rs. 300 or 400 from states…The price difference becomes 30 to 40,000 crores. There is no point in price difference.”

Justice Chandrachud raised some pertinent issues regarding the current policy. LiveLaw reported him asking, “Why can’t the Centre acquire a hundred percent, identify the manufacturers and negotiate with them and then distribute to the states? We are talking about the centralisation of the procurement and the decentralisation of the distribution. You have given 50% quota to the states.”

Justice Bhat compared the Indian vaccine prices to other countries and wondered why the rate is high in India considering our huge consumption rate. He said, “It is $2.15 in the US and it is low even in the EU. Why must it be 600 to the states and 1200 to the private hospitals in India? Our drug consumption parallels no one! We are the largest consumer!”

The Bench then told the Centre to not leave pricing issues to the vaccine manufacturers. “Rule 19 and 20 of Drugs Price Control order mandates you to control the price of drugs, whether you procure or not let states get it from you….Don’t leave it to the manufacturers. How will they determine equity? Invoke your powers to see that additional facilities are created for vaccine manufacturing,” said the Bench according to LiveLaw.

Section 92 of the Patents Act provides that the Centre can grant compulsory license on a patent if it believes that there is a national emergency, circumstance of extreme urgency or case of public non-commercial use. Section 100 empowers the Centre to intervene, at any time after an application for a patent has been filed at the patent office or a patent has been granted, for government purposes.

The Bench referred to these sections and directed the central government to invoke its powers under Sections 92 and 100 of the Act for compulsory licensing of the Covid vaccines.

Oxygen shortage in Delhi and other States

As per Bar & Bench , the court raised some identified issues and asked, “On oxygen supply, what is the mechanism to display allocation supply..can a mechanism be developed to show real time updates as to how much allocation is being given so that which hospital has how much oxygen can be checked?” The court then addressed the issue of oxygen shortage in the National Capital and said that the union government has a special responsibility with respect to the citizens of Delhi.

“Delhi represents the nation and there is hardly any one ethnically Delhite… Forget about someone not lifting oxygen. You have to push through since you have to save lives Mr Solicitor. You have a special responsibility as the Centre,” Justice Chandrachud reportedly said.

“Delhi represents the nation and there is hardly any one ethnically Delhite. Forget about someone not lifting oxygen. You have to push through since you have to save lives Mr Solicitor. You have a special responsibility as the Centre”, Justice Chandrachud.

— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) April 30, 2021

Justice Chandrachud pointed out that 500 people have already died in the past 5 days to which the Solicitor General clarified that they were not due to lack of oxygen. “But we have to do something”, said Justice Chandrachud.

SG Mehta told the court that Delhi is currently facing shortage issues because of logistical problems like lack of tankers, etc. The Bench, as reported by LiveLaw, observed that the Delhi Government had demanded for 700 metric tons of oxygen and received only 490 metric tons. The SG said that they are providing more tankers and some industries are also helping with oxygen transportation.

He accepted that Delhi was facing shortage since it is not an industrial area but assured the court that the centre was “putting more tankers to work”, as per Bar & Bench. He also added, “Oxygen supply is a dynamic issue. If there is a sudden surge figures are bound to increase. Then allocation also increases.”

The court asked Tushar Mehta about the approximate average amount of oxygen made available in India and whether there has been a deficit. To this, he said, “It depends on daily need, as on date, no. About 10,000 MT of oxygen is available.”

Justice Chandrachud asked the SG about shortage in other states like Gujarat and Maharashtra for which data was not available. SG Tushar Mehta said that states have been handling the issue effectively. He said, “Many states have handled this very effectively. There is a virtual control room that is working 24×7 and any state which has an emergent need can contact the control room for such assistance. For example, if a tanker is coming from Haryana to Delhi that tanker may be stopped at Haryana as they too face shortage. Then a call goes to the control room and this issue gets addressed,” reported Bar & Bench.

But the SG stated, “By and large oxygen has been supplied to each and every heavy load state. Officials in the control room are in live touch with the chief secretaries of states. Logistical issues at states have to be sorted out.”

The Centre’s affidavit placed before the Bench also states that the demand for oxygen has increased and no country can have unlimited supply of oxygen. According to Bar & Bench, the affidavit reads, “…it is apparent that there has been a sudden increase in the projected medical oxygen required as on April 20 between the initial estimate and revised estimate submitted by Delhi (133%) and Uttar Pradesh (100%). It is also pertinent to note that the medical oxygen in any country cannot be unlimited… It is submitted that the sheer magnitude of this unprecedented surge itself bring with it certain inbuilt limitations in terms of available resources which need to be professionally augmented and utilised.”

The court has reportedly said that it will issue a slew of interim directions for the next 10 days to monitor the situation. “We will formulate a proper order. It is about important policy changes that the centre needs to consider”, said Justice Chandrachud.

In the previous hearing, the court had said that they intervened in the matter as they could not be mute spectators during a crisis like this. The matter will now be taken up on May 10.

The post Don’t clampdown on online Covid SOS calls by citizens: SC warns state govt’s appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Article 21 casts duty on state to provide life saving means such as oxygen and drugs: MP High Court

Tue, 20 Apr 2021 05:30:54 +0000

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has issued a slew of directions to the state government to deal with the Covid-19 crisis in the state where people are struggling with inadequate oxygen supply in hospitals, high priced treatments and illegal trade in life-saving drugs like Remdesivir. The bench of Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq and Justice Atul Sreedharan also highlighted the obligation of the state to ensure fulfilment of right to health guaranteed under the Constitution.

The court had taken suo moto cognizance of the letter forwarded by the Supreme Court whereby Senior Advocate Ashwani Kumar had highlighted a tragic incident where an elderly patient was chained to a hospital bed in Bhopal allegedly on his failure to make payment of fees for his treatment.

In September 2020, the court had directed the state to issue necessary directions to every hospital to display the rates for Covid treatment at their reception counters and publish the same in newspapers, to curb overcharging; and kept issuing slew of directions at following hearings.

The various interventions and submission made by the parties and the issued raised therein were summed up by the court:

Several deaths have been reported due to non-availability of Oxygen
There is an acute shortage of Remdesivir, a drug widely used in the treatment of Covid-19 and private hospitals are exploiting the situation by over-charging for it
No dedicated Covid hospitals in most districts
Oral instructions have been issued to all Private Labs/ Private Hospitals/Nursing Homes not to conduct any RTPCR and Rapid Antigen Tests
Despite government prescribed rates for treatment, private hospitals were over-charging patients
Private hospitals only providing beds to those who are ready to pay higher charges
Most of the private hospitals are not providing cashless treatment to the patients having insurance cover
the private hospitals empanelled and approved for Covid-19 treatment under Ayushman Bharat Yojana are also not accepting the Covid patients and the patients from Below Poverty Line having BPL cards under Deendayal Antyodaya Upchar Yojana are also not being provided treatment under that scheme by approved Hospitals
There is lack of system whereby it could be known as to how many normal beds, ICU beds and Ventilators are available in Government and Private Hospitals as the portal “Sarthak” is not regularly updated
Correct number of positive cases being suppressed by district administration
Delay in Covid-19 test results and if person dies before getting positive report, the dead body is handed over to family without following Covid protocol

The amicus curiae as well as the counsels for the petitioners said that news reports have stated that patients are being asked to bring their own Oxygen cylinders with them and manage the vials of Remdesivir on their own.

Court’s observations

After taking these submissions into consideration, the court observed thus,

“It is the duty of the Government to ensure that common man is not made to suffer due to non-availability of Oxygen and life saving drug like Remdesivir. The Government has miserably failed to ensurethe availability of treatment to poor and needy, especially in semiurban and rural areas thereby violating the right to life of the citizens enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution of India.”

The court stated that this was indicative of disorganised health infrastructure and the government miserably failing to manage this medical emergency despite advance warning. “the entire State machinery has been caught off-guard and has been found lacking in its efforts to provide basic health care to the citizens,” the court said.

The court’s directions

The court has directed the government to ensure strict compliance of all directions issued by the court in this petition as well as the order issued by the government that private hospitals cannot charge more than 40% of the rate decided by the government for treating patients.
The government should fix the rates for being charged by the private Hospitals and labs for treatment/tests
State Government should ensure strict compliance of all such directions including about the treatment of poor patients under Ayushman Bharat Yojana reserving 20% beds for Ayushman Bharat Yojana beneficiaries and increase the empanelment of more private hospitals under the said scheme.
The State Government should ensure regular and continuous supply of Oxygen not only to the Government Hospitals but also to private hospitals
Since the State is wholly dependent on supply of Liquid Oxygen from other States it should initiate the process of setting up Liquid Oxygen Plant
The State Government must come forward to assist private hospitals in setting up their Oxygen-Concentration Units by providing them soft loan by involving leading Banks and Financial Institutions
The State Government should ensure the availability of Remdesivir injection and regulate its supply
The State Government should be required to restore the facilities of 262 hospitals Covid Care Centres (CCC), 62 Dedicated Covid Health Centre (DCHC) and 16 Dedicated Covid Hospital (DCH)
the State Government shall ensure that the District Collectors and Chief Medical & Health Officers in every District shall periodically hold meetings with the heads of all Government Hospitals, Private Hospitals/Nursing Homes and Diagnostic Centres/Labs to take stock of the day to day situation of the number of patients, availability of normal beds, ICU beds and Ventilators and also as per the requirement consider enhancing the capacity to cater to the need of a given place;
the State Government shall ensure displaying of data with regard to availability of normal beds, ICU beds and Ventilators on its Sarthak portal on real time basis
On the basis of regular vigil about the availability of normal beds, ICU beds and Ventilators, the District Collector should take day to day decision for increase in the number of such beds by procuring additional infrastructure to ensure continuous availability of medical health care
the State Government should require all the private Hospitals/medicine shops to display the rates of Remdesivir per vial, separately for generic and branded injections, and all of them should be mandated not to charge more than the prescribed rates
Even if supply of Remdesivir is regulated, the process should be hassle free and requisition by doctor and the supply should not exceed an hour
the State Government should give due publicity to the Toll Free Number 1075 (with the STD code number of respective districts) of its Covid Command and Control Centres so that the Covid patients and their family members/attendants having any grievance may lodge complaint
The government should take over marriage halls, stadium, schools, and set up more CCC, DCH and DCHC
the State Government should consider reappointing those Medical Officers, Para Medical and Nursing Staff, who have retired during past two to three years
Hospitals shall not refuse to attend the patients suffering from other serious ailments and provide them timely treatment depending on the seriousness of the ailments.

The court observed that the need of the hour in the time of crisis is to have the best of cooperation and coordination with the Hospitals and Nursing Homes in the private sector and seek their support for timely treatment.

The court has sought action taken reports in regards to these directions at the next hearing, May 10.

Right to health

In its order, the court gave specific emphasis upon the right to good health as being part of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution. The court also referred to Article 38, Article 39(e), Article 41 and Article 47, part of Directive Principles of State Policy.

“The right to health can be secured to the citizens only if the State provides adequate measures for their treatment, healthcare and takes their care by protecting them from calamities like Coronavirus,” the court stated. The court also referred to Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ratified by India, which is considered as having the force of customary international law declares that “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health…” as also the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which stated that the State should recognize enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and should take steps for prevention, treatment and control of a pandemic.

The court also cited a catena of judgments passed by the apex court where it has interpreted Article 21 to include individual’s right to health.

“The right of the citizen to adequate healthcare emanates from the dignity and sanctity of the human life which belongs to all of them. Health, besides being a fundamental right, is a basic human right, which no popular government can afford to negate. Health has its own prerequisites of social justice and equality and that it should be accessible to all,” the court observed.

The court stated that the core obligation of the State in securing the right to life to all its citizens is non-negotiable. “Article 21 of the Constitution of India in this regard clearly casts a duty on the State to take whatever steps are necessary in securing such rights to access to health facilities to the citizens. It also includes an obligation on the State in ensuring access to all the citizens inflicted with disease of Coronavirus with life saving means and drugs such as Oxygen and Remdesivir in this case,” the court said.

The complete order may be read here.

Manmohan Singh offers advice to PM Modi on how to fight Covid-19

Declare a national health emergency: Kapil Sibal to PM Modi

The post Article 21 casts duty on state to provide life saving means such as oxygen and drugs: MP High Court appeared first on SabrangIndia.

MACCIA threatens to keep shops open despite Maha govt’s Covid rules

Mon, 12 Apr 2021 07:39:12 +0000

Image Courtesy:retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com

Nearly 800 trade and industrial associations of the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce Industry and Agriculture (MACCIA) warned that they will open all shops on April 12, 2021 and defy the Covid-19 restrictions imposed by the state government. However, news website Rediff said that other prominent bodies such as the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) and Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association (FRTWA) will not be participating in this decision of the MACCIA.

On April 7, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray held a meeting with various trade leaders and told attendees that the state government would consider their demands during Cabinet meetings.

Attendees such as FRTWA President Viren Shah told SabrangIndia that traders will wait until the state government announces a decision on April 14. Leaders hope that the administration will relax norms and allow shops to remain open on weekdays.

Earlier, the government issued state-wide restrictions such as closure of malls, multiplexes, markets and non-essential stores. Weekend lockdowns were also announced. However, this shutdown sparked huge uproar within the trade and hotel industries that foresee worsening economies if lockdowns persist.

Meanwhile, MACCIA Senior Vice President Lalit Gandhi told Rediff that members decided to keep stores open regardless of government decisions to avoid last year’s suffering. He mentioned that traders have already stocked goods for upcoming festivals and will incur huge losses if stores are not opened. He also stated that there is no “scientific basis for closing all commercial establishments.”

Others such as CAIT General Secretary Praveen Khandelwal said members will not defy state guidelines because it will be an “extreme and immature step to do so.”

On April 11, the state Press Information Bureau (PIB) declared 63,294 new coronavirus cases and 349 deaths. Citizens are advised not to casually leave the house, especially at night as the night curfew continues.

The post MACCIA threatens to keep shops open despite Maha govt’s Covid rules appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Karnataka HC asks State to clarify their stand on compensation for farmer suicides

Wed, 03 Mar 2021 06:23:10 +0000

Image Courtesy:newindianexpress.com

The Karnataka High Court has asked the State Government to take a stand whether the families of farmers who died by suicide, will be excluded from government assistance of Rs 5 lakhs in order to pay private money lenders, reported LiveLaw.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Abhay Oka and Justice S Vishwajith Shetty took strong objection to the classification created by the State Government whereby financial aid is given only to farmers who ended their life after borrowing from banks and financial institutions.

LiveLaw quoted the Bench orally observing, “Prima facie the cause for which farmer commits suicide is important…cause is he is heavily indebted…he is not able to repay the loan so he taken this option of committing suicide. What is the difference between the class of farmers who taken money from banks and credit societies and commit suicide and class of farmers who take loan from private money lenders and committed suicide? Why has the state made the distinction between the two?”

LiveLaw accessed the State affidavit submitted before the High Court Bench, that read: “The Government has no control nor there is any regulation preventing farmers from taking any loan from private money lenders and therefore this aspect is one of the reasons for determining the eligibility of the farmers to extend the benefit.

However, if the same family who have suffered at the hands of money lenders, also have taken loan from the banks or other notified institutions, the family still would be entitled for the benefit, subject to satisfaction of any and or all other conditions.”

The Bench urged the Chief Secretary to look at the seriousness of the situation. The court said, “Only in one taluka there are about 125 cases of farmers committing suicide, within a span of five years.” He directed him to file an affidavit within three weeks and keep in mind the dire circumstances under which farmers are forced to approach private money lenders to obtain loans.

The High Court in this writ petition, also considered the allegations of the petitioner Akhanda Karnataka Raitha Sangha, about the failure to implement the crop insurance scheme and failure to disburse the crop insurance loss compensation to the insured farmers in Shahapur taluk of Yadgir district. Thereafter, the State was directed to file an affidavit in this regard on December 11, 2020.

On January 13, the High Court perused the affidavit on implementation and said, “We have perused the affidavit of Shri Brijesh Kumar Dikshit, I.F.S., filed by the State Government on 12th January 2021. Prima facie, it appears that the said affidavit shows insensitivity on the part of the Officers of the State in dealing with implementation of the Crop Insurance Scheme.”

The court has also directed the State Government to place on record details of grievance/complaints of farmers, disposed of by the district grievance redressal committee at District Yadgir. The matter will be heard on March 29.

The order dated January 13, 2021 may be read here:

The post Karnataka HC asks State to clarify their stand on compensation for farmer suicides appeared first on SabrangIndia.