If you can't manage Covid situation, we'll ask Centre to take over: Delhi HC pulls up Kejriwal govt

New Delhi, Apr 27: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday pulled up Arvind Kejriwal government over its handling of the current Covid crisis and said it has not made any request for creating COVID-19 facilities for its judges, staff and their families in a five star hotel.

The court also said if the Delhi government was unable to handle the situation, it will ask the central government to send its officers and take over.

The bench of justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli was hearing a plea by hospitals regarding the shortage of oxygen and drugs like remdesivir. "Set your house in order," the court said. "Enough is enough."

Taking suo motu cognisance of the news reports which said that 100 rooms of Ashoka Hotel in national capital have been converted into a COVID health facility for judges of Delhi High Court on its request, a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli said,"No communication has been made to anyone in this regard".

"We have not made any such request for taking over facilities of a five star hotel," the bench said and directed the Delhi government to "take corrective steps immediately".

In an order issued by the sub-divisional magistrate of Chanakyapuri on April 25, it was stated that the COVID facility at Ashoka Hotel will be associated with Primus Hospital.

The order also said that the facility was being set up on the request of the Delhi High Court.

Terming the order as "wrong", the bench said the image being projected as a result of it was that the Delhi High Court judges have taken it for their benefit or that the Delhi government has done it to appease the court.

The high court also did not agree with senior advocate Rahul Mehra's claim that the media played "mischief", saying "the media is not wrong".

It said that the media only pointed out what was wrong in the order and it was the SDM''s order which was wrong.