Case against Union, Bihar ministers: Court orders probe

PATNA: Muzaffarpur chief judicial magistrate (CJM) Suryakant Tiwari has ordered a probe into the allegations of negligence against Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan and his state counterpart Mangal Pandey in dealing with the cases of acute encephalitis syndrome (AES), which has claimed 152 lives in Bihar this year.
Hearing a complaint petition filed by Muzaffarpur-based social activist Tamanna Hashmi, the CJM on Monday transferred the case to the special MP-MLA court headed by Richa Bhargav to take cognizance of the allegations and record the statements of witnesses.The special court has fixed June 28 as the next date of hearing.
The complaint was lodged in the CJM court on June 17 under Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 308 (culpable homicide) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the IPC. If convicted under Section 504, the accused may be awarded two years punishment or fine or both. Similarly, the accused is liable for up to three years’ imprisonment under Section 308 and one year jail term under Section 323 of IPC.
The petitioner alleged that due to the negligence of the accused, children below the age of 10 and mostly belonging to the economically weaker sections of society died in large numbers. “The accused failed to discharge their official duties as no awareness campaign was launched by the health department despite the fact that several children die every year due to the AES,” he alleged.
Both Harsh Vardhan and Pandey had visited the Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) in Muzaffarpur on June 16 and reviewed the arrangements for the AES patients admitted to the facility. The two, along with other health department officials, had also promised all help to the relatives of the patients admitted to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) of the SKMCH where maximum number of children died.
The petitioner alleged that the accused visited the SKMCH, but the children continued dying. “Had the accused discharged their duties properly, the number of casualties could have been less,” he alleged. The senior health department officials, who were also apprised of the matter, didn’t bother to take preventive measures, which led to 82 deaths due to AES till June 17, he alleged.
Patna high court concerned over lack of facilities in government hospitals
In a related development, the Patna high court on Monday expressed concern over lack of infrastructure in government hospitals. While hearing a PIL filed by Vikas Chandra alias Guddu Baba, the single bench of Justice Jyoti Saran expressed his displeasure over the lack of adequate facilities in the government hospitals. He was also surprised to know that pharmacist posts were lying vacant in premier hospitals like Indira Gandhi Institute of Cardiology, Patna.
Justice Saran warned principal secretary (health) against non-compliance of an earlier directive and said the court would impose a penalty of Rs50,000 on him if he failed to adhere to the order. Holding the state government accountable for providing medical facilities to the people, Justice Saran said the bureaucracy was no less responsible for the malaise. “It’s the prime responsibility of the state government to ensure medical facilities to the citizens. But the lethargic process to accomplish the task is also to blame for the sorry state of affairs in the government hospitals,” Justice Saran remarked. The next date of hearing is on July 1.