‘Will hang anyone trying to obstruct Oxygen supply’, Delhi HC talks tough, asks Centre to prepare for COVID ‘Tsunami’

Taking a strong note of the oxygen crisis in the national capital, the Delhi High Court Saturday warned it will “hang” anyone trying to obstruct oxygen supplies to the hospitals.

A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli said so during a special hearing on the issue of mounting oxygen crisis in various Delhi hospitals.

Terming the massive rise in cases as a “Tsunami”, the Court asked the central government to deal with the expected peak in mid-May.

The bench, as per reports, said the mortality rate needed to be reduced as even those who could be saved are also dying.

It referred to a study by a team of scientists from IIT Kanpur which predicts that the peak of this current wave will come in mid-May.

“We are calling it a wave, it is actually a Tsunami,” the court said, according to reports.

It asked the Centre about the preparedness in terms of infrastructure, hospitals, medical staff, medicines, vaccines and oxygen as on date for the peak.

The court was hearing submissions by the counsel for Maharaja Agrasen Hospital, Jaipur Golden Hospital, Batra Hospital and Saroj Super Speciality Hospital here over shortage of oxygen for treating seriously-ill COVID patients.

“We will hang that man. We will not spare anyone,” the court said while telling the Delhi government to give one instance of any official at the central, state or local administration obstructing the pickup of oxygen supplies.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, said there might be a rapid rise in the number of cases in May and June and the country needs to be ready for the worst.

He said the Prime Minister and others are working on it and have decided to import oxygen and are also exploring the remotest possibility of generating oxygen from wherever it is possible.

The court told the Delhi government to inform the Centre also about such officials of the local administration so that it could take action against them.

It also asked the Centre when the 480 metric tonne (MT) of oxygen per day allocated for Delhi would see the light of the day.

“You (Centre) had assured us (on April 21) that 480 MT per day will reach Delhi. Tell us when will it come? The 480 MT per day is still to see the light of the day.”

(With inputs from Agencies)