A Division Bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, headed by Chief Justice Arup Kumar Goswami and comprising Justice C. Praveen Kumar, directed the State government to make up the shortfalls in tackling COVID with the urgency it deserves, and suggested that the related Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petitions not be considered as adversarial actions.
During a hearing on PILs filed by AP Civil Liberties Association and Guntur-based social activist Thota Suresh Babu on the COVID containment measures on Wednesday, the court expressed concern on the hardships being faced by COVID patients, particularly the alleged inaction against their exploitation by private hospitals, and inquired about the vaccination drive and other steps taken by the government to control the pandemic.
The Chief Justice and Justice Praveen Kumar also questioned Advocate-General S. Sriram about the availability of oxygen and Remdesivir injections and a host of other issues involved in mitigating the devastating impact of COVID.
The court ordered that the names and mobile phone numbers of nodal officers in government-notified COVID hospitals and Covid Care Centres should be prominently displayed and wide publicity given to the same to enable the people to avail themselves of their services without much difficulty.
It has been further ordered that flying squads be set up to crack the whip on erring hospitals and efforts made to ensure COVID-appropriate behaviour. Advocates N. Srinivasa Rao and P. Suresh Kumar represented the petitioners. The matter is going to be heard next on May 4.
