Sakshi Chhabra
Advocate Shobha Gupta initiated a PIL before the High Court of Delhi seeking directions to the Delhi government to immediately declare judicial officers as frontline Covid workers and to provide a mechanism for the treatment of the judicial officers and their families infected by the coronavirus.
The plea was filed by Adv. Shobha Gupta and other (advocates enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi)
In their petition, Advocate Shobha Gupta mentioned how the judicial officers in view of being honest to their work, are working hard to maintain law and order in the state.
With the second wave of the coronavirus hitting the nation she is specifically concerned about the health and life of the judicial officers and their families.
A number of judges between 24th March and 20th April have tested positive after resuming physical hearings in the court premises in Delhi to ensure speedy and effective delivery of justice.
It has been argued in the plea that if no radical measures are taken the other judicial officers may also get infected with the coronavirus and face severe health consequences.
The plea submits that, “the judicial officers have not been included in the list of frontline workers despite of the fact that when the entire country was under lockdown, continuous duties were followed by the judicial officers for maintaining law and order in the state, this has been totally ignored by the government. The fact that the judicial officers have been most exposed to the deadly coronavirus and yet they have been discriminated against by not being included in the list of the frontline workers.“
Six judicial Officers from the Saket complex required urgent hospital admission. Despite efforts, four of them could not secure even a bed at the nearest Covid hospital Max Smart.
Hospital being only a km away from their complex the officers and their families had to run to somehow secure admission in hospitals located many kilometers away in the city, said the petition.
Unfortunately, one DHJS officer, Kovai Venugopal, succumbed to the disease because of late hospital admission, who survived with a widow and a 9-year-old daughter.
The PIL urged to “direct the GNCT of Delhi to immediately declare Ld. Judicial officers (DJS/DHJS) as frontline workers and provide them medical treatment by setting up a mechanism for the judicial officers in Delhi infected with the coronavirus and or serious related ailments. It also sought to direct the government to earmark private and government hospitals near the respective court residence complex in Delhi for the treatment of the judicial officers (DJS/DHJS).
“To convert the dispensaries in the resident colonies of judicial officers and dispensaries near the court complexes into covid centers. The plea sought to treat the judicial officers with severe symptoms and treatment as frontline workers.“