SC finds HC's orders for medical facilities impossible for UP to implement

New Delhi: The Supreme Court said that the High Courts should refrain from making impracticable orders referring to the Allahabad High Court directions to the UP government to avail oxygen facilities to all nursing home beds within four months.

The SC also stayed the Allahabad HC order that also directed the state government to ensure that within a month every UP village had two ambulances with an ICU facility. The Supreme Court, however, found the orders impossible to implement.

The vacation bench comprising Justices Vineet Saran and BR Gavai made this observation while attending a submission made by Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, who appeared on behalf of the state of Uttar Pradesh.

According to the SC bench, such wordings could be pronounced as advice rather than directions on which the state government would try to arrange facilities.

Earlier this week, the Allahabad HC observed the entire medical system of the state, especially in smaller cities and villages, which can only be taken to be like the famous Hindi phrase "Ram bharose" (at the mercy of God).

The top court also asked the High Courts to not pass orders having national and international ramifications, and leave these matters for the top court to examine.

"Courts should also have some judicial restraint and not pass orders which are difficult to be implemented," said the bench during the hearing of a plea filed by the Uttar Pradesh government challenging the High Court order.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the UP government, submitted that all Covid-19 related matters should be listed before a bench led by the Chief Justice of the High Courts. He contended that health infrastructure can never be ignored, but these directions are impossible to comply with. He also cited the High Court which directed the imposition of lockdown in several cities, which was stayed by the top court.

However, the top court declined to entertain Mehta's submissions that only Chief Justice's bench in High Courts should hear Covid-19 matters, saying that it won't pass such sweeping orders. "Constitution of Benches is the prerogative of the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court. We will not pass an order for every High Court," said the top court.

The bench also observed that there are submissions that certain directions have also been made directing medical companies to take formulas and start producing vaccines which, according to the state government, cannot be implemented.

(with inputs from IANS)