Supreme Court Sets up National Task Force to Manage Oxygen Distribution

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, May 8: As Delhi complained of yet another slip by the centre in meeting its oxygen requirement despite the Supreme Court’s order, the apex court on Saturday set up a 12-member National Task Force to assess availability and distribution of medical oxygen – on scientific, rational and equitable basis – across the country.

A two-judge bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah passed the order after personally speaking to each member of the proposed task force, which will begin work within a week. The task force will also suggest measures to ensure availability of medicines needed to treat COVID-19.

“The rationale for constituting a Task Force at a national level is to facilitate public health response to the pandemic based on scientific and specialised domain knowledge. We expect leading experts in the country shall associate with the Task Force, as members and resource persons,” the court said in its final order.

“This will facilitate a meeting of minds and the formulation of scientific strategies to deal with an unprecedented human crisis,” the court added.

The task force’s reports will be submitted to the centre and the court. Members included Dr Bhabatosh Biswas, former Vice Chancellor of the West Bengal University of Health Sciences, and Dr Naresh Trehan, Chairperson and Managing Director of Gurgaon’s Medanta Hospital and Heart Institute.

Two members will be from the government and a Cabinet Secretary will be the convenor.  Calling for the revamp of centre’s allocation of oxygen to different states, the apex court on Friday had castigated the centre for its “failure” to consider factors like ambulances, lower-level Covid care facilities and patients in home quarantine in deciding the oxygen quota which led to the formation of the National Task Force, particularly after several patients died across the country allegedly for want of oxygen.

“We need to do look at the issue pan-India…an oxygen audit is necessary. What is the accountability once stocks are released?” the court had asked.

The court had also demanded to know if the centre was preparing for a possible third Covid wave, which could further worsen the acute shortfall in oxygen, medicines and hospital beds. Oxygen has become a crucial medical resource because significantly more patients are suffering from breathlessness in this wave of infections, the centre has said.

The apex court order came even as the Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia claimed that the supply of oxygen to Delhi has been slipping once again in the last two days, with only 487 metric tonnes received on May 7.

On Friday the Chandrachud-Shah bench taking note of a submission of deficient supply of oxygen by the Delhi government had directed the Centre to supply 700 MT of medical oxygen to Delhi “everyday till further orders” and had warned that it will pass orders against officials if this is not done.

In a press conference on Saturday, Sisodia said May 5 was the first time that Delhi had received more than 700 MT of oxygen — it had received 730 MT of oxygen on that day — but the supply has been slipping after that once again.

“I have said repeatedly that at the current moment, with all the hospitals and current number of beds, Delhi requires 700 MT of oxygen daily. If that is provided, it is sufficient for the current requirement and if we want to further increase our capacity, we require 976 MT. On May 5, for the first time Delhi got 730 tonnes of oxygen. For that we are thankful to the central government. But after that, once again, on May 6 we got 577 and yesterday we got 487. It is very difficult to manage the oxygen supply of hospitals with 487 MTs because there is a demand of 700 MT. The Supreme Court has also directed that Delhi’s requirement be met… I request the central government with folded hands that—the way it assisted us on one day with more than 700 MT of oxygen—to please ensure the minimum supply of 700 MT,” he said.

He also said that the Delhi government’s plans to further increase its medical infrastructure would create higher oxygen requirements in the future.

Meanwhile, another bench of the Supreme Court headed by the chief justice N V Ramana and comprising justices L Nageswara Rao and Surya Kant, has asked the government to reduce congestion in the overcrowded prisons in the country in view of the pandemic.

“India has more than four lakh prison inmates. It is observed that some of the prisons in India are overburdened and are housing inmates beyond optimal capacity…. The requirement of decongestion is a matter concerning the health and right to life of both the prison inmates and the police personnel working,” the Bench stressed.

In a 14-page order released on Saturday, Chief Justice Ramana’s Bench ordered the police to take a leaf from the apex court’s judgment in the Arnesh Kumar case and limit arrests during the pandemic to prevent over-crowding in jails; especially not to order detention in a mechanical manner in cases involving punishment of less or up to seven years’ imprisonment.

It further ordered special committees or ‘High-Powered Committees’ constituted in most States and Union Territories to screen prisoners and release them on interim bail. In addition to these fresh releases, the court said prisoners who were released on interim bail during the 2020 surge should be freed again “forthwith.” Ninety percent of inmates released last year had returned to their prisons in February and March 2021.

Similarly, inmates who were given parole in 2020 should be released again on a 90-day parole in a bid to de-congest prisons, control infections and save lives within the prison walls.

“From limiting arrests to taking care of COVID-19 patients, there is a requirement for effective management of pandemic from within the prison walls so as to defeat this deadly virus,” the court emphasised.

More importantly, this time, the court took into consideration a situation where certain prisoners may be too scared to return home, though eligible for release on interim bail or parole, owing to their social circumstances or simply because they are afraid they may get infected with COVID-19 while outside. In such cases, the court ordered proper medical facilities, immediate treatment and regular tests for both inmates and jail staff. It said maintenance of daily hygiene in prisons should be put at a premium.

The Bench even ordered the State and prison authorities to transport the released prisoners to their homes so that they would not have any trouble in view of any curfew or lockdown.

The court said steps to reduce the impact of COVID-19 requires calibration of the concerns of the criminal justice system, health hazards and rights of accused persons.

Significantly, the court addressing the government, said “the fight against the pandemic is greatly benefitted by transparent administration.”

It noted, in this regard, how the prison occupancy in Delhi is updated on official websites concerned. “Such measures are required to be considered by other States and should be adopted as good practice. Moreover, all the decisions of High-Powered Committees need to be published on respective State Legal Service Authorities/State Governments/High Courts websites in order to enable effective dissemination of information.”

In 2020, it was left open to these committees to determine the category of prisoners who should be released depending upon the nature of offence, the prison sentence, the severity of offence, and the stage of trial or any other relevant factor.

“This is a hard-hitting and far-reaching order that will bring relief to about more than 60,000 under trial prisoners and convict prisoners and people in detention centres,” official sources said.