ILNS: A petition filed on Thursday in the Supreme Court, seeking a judicial enquiry into the Nashik gas leak incident that led to the death of 24 Covid-19 patients, while also urging the Court to directly register an FIR in the case under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).
The plea, filed by NGO Save Them India Foundation, further sought directions to all state and Union Territory (UT) governments of the country to initiate policies and guidelines for channelised and administered distribution of medical equipment.
It further urged the apex court to set up a technical committee for the monitoring of medical equipment crisis in India, to enforce the right to health and life enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The petition said it was the duty of the government and its authorities to make sure that each and every hospital of the country dealing with Covid cases gets medicines at the rate determined by the government.
The deficiency of medicines such as Remdesivir, along with failed distribution policy of the government, has led to the situation of illegal marketing and illegal hoarding of the medical equipment, leading to a situation of compromise of the health of Covid patients in India, it added.
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At least 24 coronavirus patients, who were on life support at Dr Zakir Hussain Hospital in Nashik, died after the leak in a medical oxygen tank.