Read Time: 04 minutes
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed by Samadhan Abhiyan, seeking a court-monitored investigation into the deaths of 14 people including children. Alternatively, the plea sought a CBI inquiry and a social audit of all shelter homes in the national capital to reveal accurate conditions.
NGO Samadhan Abhiyan, before the Delhi High Court, claimed that according to an employee working in the shelter home, the victims were ‘physically assaulted before dying’. The NGO had approached the court seeking a court-monitored investigation into the deaths of fourteen individuals, including children, at the Asha Kiran Shelter Home.
During the proceedings, the bench of Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela inquired whether an affidavit stating the aforementioned allegations was placed on record. In response, the advocate representing the NGO stated that the relevant documents had been submitted the previous day, but they had not yet appeared on the court's record.
The counsel contended that the affidavit was only filed the day before and therefore had not come up in the official record.
The court expressed caution over the nature of the allegations, instructing the advocate not to make such scandalous claims without submitting an affidavit to substantiate the same. “Don't make such scandalous allegations without any affidavit showing the same”, the court, remarked.
Background:
In the hearing, dated August 5, the court directed the Secretary of Social Welfare of the Delhi Government to visit the Asha Kiran shelter home. The court also expressed suspicion over the high number of deaths that occurred in the shelter home within a month, noting that it could not have been coincidental.
The court noted that, if the shelter home was overcrowded, some residents might need to be relocated to a more suitable location.
A status report filed by the department indicated that all authorized health staff positions at Asha Kiran have been filled, except for two clinical psychologist roles.
The court, thereafter, directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to transfer one of its Narela nursing colleges and hostel buildings to the Social Welfare Department for the relocation of inmates. The court also directed the nursing college to be renovated to accommodate the inmates of Asha Kiran's home, as the current capacity of 928 inmates exceeds the intended capacity of 570.
The court further directed FRRO and Delhi Police to facilitate the social welfare department for immediate shifting of inmates.
Case Title: Samadhan Abhiyan v. GNCTD & Ors.
Please Login or Register
