Delhi HC dismisses PIL seeking to ensure availability of protective gear for frontline COVID-19 warriors
May 14, 2020
New Delhi [India], May 14 (AN): Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking directions to the Centre and Delhi government to ensure the availability of duly-approved and certified protective gear for frontline coronavirus warriors.
A division bench of Justice Manmohan and Justice Sanjeev Narula dismissed the PIL, moved by an NGO named Justice for All, had appealed for securing the lives of thousands of frontline health care workers and professionals actively attending COVID-19 and non-COVID patients in Delhi, who it said themselves are getting infected by the virus.
Advocate Shikha Sharma Bagga, appearing for the petitioner, said that the organisation will approach the Supreme Court challenging the order passed by the High Court in the matter.
The petitioner had submitted that hospitals in the city have been a major source of COVID-19 infection with various healthcare workers and professionals and even the patients visiting the hospitals testing positive, leading towards a grave situation of a collapse of the healthcare system which is already facing an extreme shortage of healthcare workers.
The petitioner was aggrieved and concerned with the impugned failure of the respondents in resolving the subdued issue of escalating deficit of frontline healthcare workers/professionals at the time of pandemic when the globe is dependent on them for survival and combating COVID-19, the plea said.
It said that the increasing incidents of health workers testing positive for coronavirus and moving to hospitals or quarantine centres for their treatment is making the situation even graver.
The plea sought immediate framing of SOPs or guidelines by the respondents for the compliance of the order passed by the Supreme Court to device a mechanism for the earliest certification of BIS/ISO to the manufacturers/vendors supplying the PPEs, duly approved and certified by the team of doctors including a senior and a junior, the actual users, on duty as frontline workers in accordance with the quality as per the guidelines.
