New Delhi: The Supreme court issued a strong notice to the state and the Central Government on the COVID-19 situation and ordered no rejection of treatment or essential drugs in any State or Union Territory for lack of identity proof.
A Bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud directed the Central government to curate a national policy on admissions to hospitals, within two weeks, which shall be followed by all state governments.
Taking note of the current situation of the nation in regards to hospitalization, the top court issued the above notice.
The notice read.” Left to their own devices, citizens have had to suffer immeasurable hardship. Different states and local authorities follow their own protocols. Differing standards for admission in different hospitals across the nation leads to chaos and uncertainty. The situation cannot brook any delay.”
“Accordingly, we direct the Central Government to frame a policy in this regard, in the exercise of its statutory powers under the Disaster Management Act, which will be followed nationally. The presence of such a policy shall ensure that no one in need is turned away from a hospital, due to no fault of their own,” it further stated.
Late on Sunday, the SC also issued a notice to the central government to coordinate with the state authorities and create an oxygen supply to overcome unformidable situations and distribute the stocks accordingly.
It urged the Centre to ensure the deficit in the supply of oxygen to Delhi is rectified within two days, that is, on or before midnight of May 3, 2021. The order stated that the lives of the citizens should be given paramount consideration in times of a national crisis and this responsibility should be equally borne by the Central Government and Delhi Government to cooperate and ensure ideal steps are taken to resolve the situation.