Prayagraj: Taking note of alleged black marketing of oxygen in Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh, which a public interest litigation (PIL) said resulted in the deaths of many persons during the second wave of COVID-19, the Allahabad high court has directed the district magistrate (DM) to file his personal affidavit on the matter.
The court also asked the DM to file the report in the inquiry instituted by him in this regard, following the complaint filed by the petitioner ‒ Nand Kishor, a sitting BJP MLA from the Loni assembly constituency of Ghaziabad. Kishore alleged the involvement of Shailendra Kumar Singh, the additional district magistrate (city) of Ghaziabad and some other persons in black marketing of oxygen.
A division bench comprising Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Sadhna Rani directed to post this matter on June 7, 2021 for the next hearing.
In the PIL, the petitioner requested the court to direct a CBI probe against ADM (city) Shailendra Kumar Singh and some other persons, who he claimed illegally diverted oxygen to Delhi and Haryana, ‘resulting in the deaths of scores of Covid patients in Ghaziabad and nearby areas’.
Appearing on behalf of the petitioner, senior advocate S.F.A. Naqvi contended that the ADM (city) was in charge of oxygen distribution in Ghaziabad and the black marketing happened under his nose.
“Ghaziabad has several oxygen plants and can easily sustain and fulfil the entire oxygen demand in the district. Regardless, the city has been facing a shortage of medical oxygen and there is sheer violation of citizen’s right guaranteed under Article 14 (right to equality), Article 21 (right to life and personal liberty) and other provisions of the constitution of India,” Naqvi argued.
In order to support his allegations, the petitioner had filed some audio and video clips along with the petition.
However, appearing on behalf of the state government, additional advocate general (AAG) Manish Goyal submitted before the court that shortage of oxygen was not reported in Ghaziabad during the period of complaint, i.e., the last week of April 2021, and the allegations in this regard in the writ petition are baseless.
It was further submitted by AAG Goyal that an inquiry has been instituted by the Ghaziabad DM on the complaint dated May 1, 2021, filed by the petitioner before the senior superintendent of police (SSP), Ghaziabad. In an order dated April 5, the district magistrate had appointed Asmita Lal, chief development officer (CDO) of Ghaziabad, as inquiry officer to look into the allegations made in the complaint. He, however, admitted that the inquiry report has not been submitted so far.
On which, the court directed the Ghaziabad DM to file his personal affidavit, bring on record the inquiry report and fixed June 7 as the next date of hearing in the case.
The order was passed on May 21 and came into the public domain on May 24.
Rajesh Pandey is an advocate and court reporter.
