A day after Delhi High Court issued show cause notice and asked why contempt of court proceeding cannot be initiated against the Centre, the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday (May 5) came down heavily on the Uttar Pradesh government and equated the deaths due to short supply of oxygen in the state to genocide.
The Court was responding to the death of many corona virus patients in the state, especially Lucknow, Meerut and other places. The court observed that “death of Covid patients just for non-supplying of oxygen to the hospitals is a criminal act and not less than a genocide”.
The Court observed that those responsible for the deaths due to paucity of oxygen and other issues related to corona virus, for example shortage of beds, are criminals.
The Allahabad High Court observations came on the day the Centre had moved the Supreme Court against the Delhi High Court’s order of the previous day as to why contempt of court proceeding cannot be initiated against those responsible for the shortage of oxygen.
The Supreme Court while hearing the case on Wednesday had once again ordered that Delhi should get 700 metric tonnes of oxygen daily which is due to it. The Centre’s counsel said that the national capital is getting 550 metric tonnes every day and that the main problem is not the shortage of oxygen but the arrangement of containers. The Supreme Court made it clear that it has no intention to take action on contempt of court notice.
Meanwhile, 3,780 people lost their lives across India in the last 24 hours which is the highest ever since the pandemic was first reported in the country on January 30 last year. The reported positive case was 3.8 lakh in the same period.
