Coronavirus update: Decoding impact of Delhi HC’s order on reserving 80 per cent of ICU beds for Covid-19 patients

Coronavirus Delhi update: Delhi government led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will now be able to direct 33 private hospitals in the city to reserve 80 per cent of total Intensive care unit (ICU) beds for Coronavirus infected patients. The development came after Delhi High Court allowed the state government to enforce the aforementioned directives. However, the path was not so rosy for the Delhi government as the matter reached the threshold of the Supreme Court and High Court.

What is the matter?

A single bench of the Delhi High Court in September had stayed the AAP government’s order that stated that 80 per cent of ICU beds in 33 big private hospitals are required to be reserved for COVID-19 patients. Back then, Justice Navin Chawla termed the Delhi government’s order as ‘arbitrary’, and ‘unreasonable’ and claimed that it violated citizens’ fundamental rights laid down by the Constitution of India, as per PTI report. The High Court also issued notices to the Central government and the Delhi government while hearing a plea by the Association of Healthcare Providers on this ICU beds issue.

Subsequently, the Delhi government approached the Supreme Court against the High Court’s single bench order citing that the state government’s order must be implemented to tackle the ‘alarming’ Coronavirus situation in the national capital. Supreme Court in its observation asked the Delhi High Court to hear the AAP government’s plea.

Delhi High Court Order

Delhi High Court on November 12 vacated the single bench’s stay order while observing that there has been a radical change in the ground reality. The Delhi High Court’s division bench comprising Justices Subramonium Prasad and Hima Kohli even called the prevalent situation as dynamic. The division bench has asked the state government to remain alive to the situation, as per an Indian Express report.

The state government informed the Delhi High Court that the situation in the national capital has become critical and the measure must be enforced for at least 15 days. Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain told the Delhi High Court 33 private hospitals have already reserved 1,238 ICU beds and if the Delhi government’s order is implemented the number would go up to 1,742, the IE report said.

The state government also informed the Delhi High Court that nodal officers have been deployed in the 33 hospitals.

However, the Association of Healthcare Providers Director-General Dr. Girdhar Gyani claimed that the super-specialty hospitals covering neurosurgery, liver, kidney transplants, and bypass surgery are included in that list of 33 hospitals and these must be excluded.