‘14 deaths in a month cannot be a coincidence’: Delhi HC orders inspection of mental health facility
The court also directed the Delhi Jal Board to test the quality of drinking and sewage water at the Asha Kiran institution in the national capital.
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The Delhi High Court on Monday directed the social welfare secretary of the national capital’s government to visit Asha Kiran, a residential institution for individuals with intellectual disabilities, saying that 14 deaths there in one month cannot be a coincidence, Live Law reported.
At least 14 persons died at the mental health facility in Delhi’s Rohini area in July allegedly due to malnutrition and other health problems, according to reports.
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela on Monday asked the Delhi government’s social welfare secretary to carry out an inspection of the facility on Tuesday.
The court also directed the Delhi Jal Board to test the quality of drinking and sewage water on the premises. It listed the matter for hearing on Wednesday.
The bench was hearing a public interest litigation filed by non-government organisation Samadhan Abhiyan seeking a court-monitored probe into the deaths at Asha Kiran.
The petition sought a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry into the matter and a social audit of all such residential institutions in the national capital.
The petitioners, represented by advocates Abhigyan Siddhant and Anurag Sahay, told the court that there was an “absolute collapse of the governance in Delhi, as can be seen from the aforesaid incidents,” The Indian Express reported.
It urged the...
