The Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA) on Thursday asked the Chief Justice of India to initiate an enquiry into reports about the circumstances leading to the “sudden” death of a senior lawyer, S.K. Dhingra, on the Supreme Court premises.
SCAORA referred to reports that Mr. Dhingra did not get basic medical assistance from the government dispensary at the Supreme Court “which apparently had no medicine, no doctor on duty nor an ambulance.”
The resolution, signed by SCAORA secretary and advocate Joseph Aristotle S., mentioned that security staff at one of the court gates refused entry to a vehicle carrying people on their way to help Mr. Dhingra. This, despite being told that it was an emergency.
SCAORA said this delay “wasted crucial time that could have led to providing emergency medical treatment to Mr. Dhingra and saved his life.”
“Should this be the position, it is an utter failure of the Supreme Court administration and security,” the resolution said.
The lawyers’ body sought a full-fledged enquiry and prosecution of the officers concerned.
“SCAORA calls upon the competent authority to immediately hold a time-bound enquiry against the officers concerned in the Supreme Court administration, the Supreme Court security and the government dispensary within the Supreme Court premises, and to take strict penal action, including prosecution for criminal negligence and dismissal from service, against the erring officers,” the resolution said.
It said the Supreme Court did not even have a state-of art emergency medical facility within its premises for the benefit of the advocates.
“SCAORA demands that such facility be set up and a Standard Operative Procedure be laid down immediately,” the resolution said.
