The Centre and state governments are doing their best in the midst of an oxygen shortage, and jailing officials for contempt is futile, the Supreme Court said today while hearing the central government’s appeal against a Delhi High Court order. The Supreme Court has suggested that the Centre follow the “Mumbai model” in order to maintain Delhi’s oxygen supply.
The trial started this afternoon after the Centre petitioned the Supreme Court in response to the lower court’s threat to file contempt proceedings against officials for failing to comply with an earlier request.
Chief Justice NV Ramana convened a bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah to hear the case.
“Between the Centre and the State throwing officers in jail or hauling them up for disobedience, the citizens of Delhi will be deprived of air,” the Supreme Court declared. “Contempt isn’t going to help.”
“We had passed orders for 700 metric tonnes…we will check it later…we are answerable to the people of Delhi…what is the right way to ensure 700 tonnes to Delhi?” asked the court.
When the Central Government argued that Delhi could cope with 500 tonnes of coal, the court disagreed, stating that the city’s orders were for 700 tonnes and that the 550 tonnes it was receiving now would not address its dilemma.
“We’ll give you a quick order. We’ll send you until 5 p.m. to tell us about your supply sources and how Delhi gets 700 metric tonnes. We do not want to face contempt charges. We want to see action on the ground “According to the court.
The Centre told the court that the state and federal governments were both “doing their best.”
“We are on our way to 700 metric tonnes of oxygen…we could cross 585 tonnes on May 4,” it added. Delhi has been allocated up to 590 tonnes of critical gas.
Justice Shah seemed to concur: “The Centre is doing whatever it can… What will happen if this is not done? If you get your oxygen from another state, the state will suffer as well.”
The Central Government attempted to persuade the court that, despite being in the grip of a pandemic, India was able to increase its oxygen capability from 5,000 metric tonnes, including commercial oxygen, to 9,000 tonnes now usable for medicinal use.
The government stated that the challenge now was how to delegate this to each territory. A formula, the court was told, had been devised for this purpose. “We collaborated with experts to develop a formula that is applicable across the world… Based on this, Delhi was given 480 metric tonnes, “It said.
However, Justice Chandrachud wanted to know if such a formula could be uniformly true. “Different states reach their apex at different times. There can be no general appraisal for the whole world “He said.
The court was unsure if the “formula” was empirical or a rough estimate. “Of course, it is genuine, and we will look at it on May 10,” it said, adding that there was a lot of fear among people, so the allocation should be made public so that citizens and hospitals are conscious.
Justice Chandrachud sought to examine suppliers’ capability in the face of rising demand, especially if any of them serves multiple states.
“We had mentioned making a buffer stock. If it can be achieved in densely populated Mumbai, it can surely be done in Delhi “According to Justice Chandrachud, the Chief Secretary of the Union Health Ministry should talk with the Mumbai Municipal Corporation.
Meanwhile, the Centre announced that 351.56 metric tonnes of oxygen had arrived in Delhi as of 12 p.m. today. A number of tankers are also on their way, and the city’s oxygen supply has increased since last night, according to the study.
Its failure to comply with a Delhi High Court order requiring the immediate supply of the maximum quota of oxygen to Delhi “by all means” enraged the judges yesterday. It demanded that the government clarify why a contempt lawsuit could not be filed against it.
“Enough now. We would not accept a ‘no’ in terms of oxygen availability. There is no way you can not provide 700 metric tonnes of oxygen right away. Nothing but obedience would be tolerated “Yesterday, the Delhi High Court ruled.
