Supreme Court steps in, puts government, MCDs on notice

Attorney-general Mukul Rohatgi appearing for the Central government told the Supreme Court on Monday that it was the duty of the Delhi government to ensure that the national capital remained clean and free from diseases like chikungunya and dengue.

The A-G, who was prese-nt in the court of Justices Madan B. Lokur and D.Y. Chandrachud when the PIL filed by Anil Mittal was taken up, told the court that if the Delhi government does not take the responsibility to maintain hygiene in the city, then the Centre may step in to deal with the issue. At the time he said notice may be issued to the municipal corporation of Delhi and the Delhi government.

The bench, which took suo motu cognisance of the increasing number of chikungunya and dengue cases in the city, appointed senior advocate Colin Gonsalves as the amicus curiae to assist the court in this case. The bench permitted the petitioner, Dr Mittal, to withdraw his PIL in this regard.

The bench sought response from the Delhi government on a suo motu plea relating to the death of a 7-year-old boy in Delhi due to dengue after allegedly being denied treatment by five private hospitals and the subsequent suicide by his parents. The PIL filed by Dr Mittal said that chikungunya is a viral disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes, causing high fever and severe joint pain and it sought a direction that a panel of experts be set up to ascertain the steps taken to tackle diseases like chikungunya. The senior lawyer referred to photographs, annexed with the public interest litigation, showing heaps of garbage lying in residential areas of south Delhi and alleged that the SDMC was not rising to the occasion.

The doctor pointed out that over 2,600 chikungunya cases have been reported in Delhi till September 17 and the disease has caused 15 deaths so far.