"Somebody Has To Be Made Accountable": High Court On Gujarat Hospital Fire

The court expressed surprise over the lawyer's submission that the Covid facility at the Bharuch Welfare Hospital, where the fire on May 1 killed 18 people, was set up "surreptitiously, without intimating the authorities".

The Gujarat High Court today criticised the state government over the recent fire at a COVID-19 hospital in Bharuch, saying it was contemptuous on its part to not remain vigilant and avoid such incidents, and cited many orders passed in this regard in the past. A division bench expressed surprise over Advocate General Kamal Trivedi's submission that the COVID-19 facility at the trust-run Bharuch Welfare Hospital, where the fire on May 1 killed 18 people, was set up "surreptitiously, without intimating the authorities". Sixteen COVID-19 patients and two nurses were killed in the blaze. The bench of Justices Bela Trivedi and Justice Bhargav D Karia said that "somebody has to be made accountable" for the deadly fire.