SC fines Satyendar Jain Rs 25,000 for not naming ‘hostile’ officers

The Supreme Court on Monday slapped a fine of Rs 25,000 on Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain for not filing an affidavit disclosing the names of officers the AAP government which on Friday last accused certain officers of not cooperating to contain the spread of chikunguniya and dengue diseases in the capital.

A Bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and R.K. Agrawal, hearing the suo motu petition relating to chikungunya and dengue cases, did not accept the submissions of counsel for the Delhi government that time was not sufficient to file an affidavit giving details of the names of officers. Justice Lokur told the counsel “24 hours is more than enough when people are dying of chikungunya and dengue. You had made all claims on hat day and now you cannot file an affidavit.”

On September 30, the Delhi government submitted that officers were not willing to take any responsibility and files are sent to the lieutenant-governor’s office for clearance. The Supreme Court had taken suo motu cognisance of an incident in Delhi concerning the suicide of the parents of a seven-year-old boy Avinash who died of dengue after allegedly being denied treatment by five private hospitals. The couple, Laxmichandra and Babita Rout — both natives of Orissa, committed suicide by jumping from a four-storeyed building in south Delhi’s Lado Sarai in September 2015.

On September 30, the Delhi government said that certain officers are not obeying the government’s directives. “The office of the lieutenant-governor is obstructing our functioning,” the affidavit said. The Bench had appointed senior advocate Colin Gonsalves as the amicus curiae to assist the court in this case.