New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has stayed until 22 June the proceedings initiated against Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in relation to the FIR lodged against it by the government for allegedly violating Covid-19 regulation norms.
Justice C. Hari Shankar Tuesday reserved its order on an application filed by the hospital seeking a stay on the proceedings initiated against it.
“Orders are reserved to be pronounced on 22nd June 2020 at 10.30 am. Till then, the proceedings consequent to the impugned FIR shall remain in abeyance,” the court said.
It also clarified that the “ad interim direction is being passed only so as to ensure that the status quo is not disturbed and nothing precipitates, prior to passing of orders by this court”.
The hospital has challenged the 5 June FIR lodged against it at the Rajinder Nagar police station in Delhi under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly issued by a public servant) of the Indian Penal Code.
The hospital’s main petition seeking quashing of the FIR is listed for hearing on August 11. The Delhi Police and its government will have to file their responses on the plea by then.
Also read: Delhi orders Taj Mansingh hotel to be used for Sir Ganga Ram Hospital’s Covid patients
‘FIR is vague, self-contradictory’
The FIR, filed against the medical superintendent of the hospital, alleges that the facility has not been using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) app to collect Covid-19 samples. This, it says, violates the directions issued by the government under the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897.
The mobile-based RT-PCR app, launched by the Union health ministry in April, is meant for collection centres to fill data at the time of sample collection, in order to minimise error in reporting real time data to the authorities. RT-PCR is the lab technique which has been deployed across the world to test for Covid-19.
In its petition, the hospital has claimed that the FIR is “vague”, “self-contradictory”, “motivated and malicious” and does not disclose the commission of an offence under IPC Section 188.
The hospital has submitted that it was unable to transmit information regarding sample collection from 8 May to 2 June through the RT-PCR app due to operational constraints. The facility, however, claimed that it continued to send data to the Indian Council of Medical Research as well as the Delhi government manually, through emails.
“A mere disobedience of the order is not good enough to make out an offence under section 188 of IPC but the resultant obstruction, annoyance or injury or risk of obstruction, annoyance or injury to any person or for that matter cause danger to human life, health or safety or causes or tends to cause a riot or affray which makes it an offence under section 188 of IPC,” the petition asserted.
Also read: Why Delhi’s Covid patients are running from pillar to post in search of a hospital bed