“Preventing recurrence of fire incident of paramount importance”: Gujarat High Court directs State Govt to seal hospitals violating fire safety rules

A division bench of Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Ashutosh Shashtri of the Gujarat High Court on Thursday directed the State government and all concerned authorities to immediately seal hospital buildings that do not comply with the fire safety rules or possess valid building use (BU) permission or are constructed in violation of the approved plan.

A petition was filed by Advocate Amit Panchal, who sought action for the fire incident in Dev Complex and complained that despite repeated directions, the hospital buildings are not following fire safety rules.

Panchal further submitted that because of the glass façade, the smoke did not come out of the building and more than 60 persons were stuck inside.

Panchal also relied on the High Court’s earlier order for the removal of the glass facade and other instructions for ICUs, which were vulnerable to fire during the Covid-19 pandemic times.

On the contrary, Counsel appearing for the State submitted that it had followed the High court’s directions issued in 2020 in public hospitals.

To this, Court stated that for private hospitals which outnumber government hospitals, there is no material available on record which would indicate how the said High Court order has been implemented.

Accordingly, the Ahemdabad Municipal Corporation has been directed to place on record a report on hospitals located in high-rise buildings and how the high court’s order has been implemented therein.

Court noted that preventing the recurrence of fire incidents is of paramount importance.

Conclusively, the Court ordered that such incidents would occur in the future unless stringent actions were taken against the buildings with fire complaints and that such incidents would go unnoticed many times unless deterrent action was taken against such erring persons.

Court has also directed a report to be filed by July 22 on the condition of private hospitals in the State on whether they followed the earlier High Court order to prevent fire.

Court further demanded a report on the June 25th fire at Dev Complex, which houses four hospitals, and ordered state authorities, municipal corporations, and municipalities to strictly implement the High Court's order dated December 15, 2020, to create arrangements and take measures to prevent hospital fires. The order included a directive to remove hospital glass facades as soon as possible.

[Inputs: TOI]