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2021 Supreme(SC) 265
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
VINEET SARAN, B.R. GAVAI, JJ.
STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH – APPELLANT
VERSUS
(IN RE: INHUMAN CONDITION AT QUARANTINE CENTRES AND FOR PROVIDING BETTER TREATMENT TO CORONA POSITIVE) - RESPONDENT
PETITION(S) FOR SPECIAL LEAVE TO APPEAL (C) NO(S).7147 of 2021
Decided on : 21-05-2021
Advocate Appeared:
For the Appellant : Mr. Tushar Mehta, Mr. S.V. Raju, Mrs. Garima Prashad, Mr. Abhishek Sharma, Mr. Abhinav Agrawal, AOR
IMPORTANT POINT
High Court should normally consider possibility of implementation of directions given by it and such directions which are incapable of being implemented should be avoided. Doctrine of impossibility would be equally applicable to Court orders as well.
Headnote:
Corona Pandemic – Judicial Monitoring – Initiative in this regard by various High Courts is laudable – However, while dealing with such matters, because of concern and anxiety which courts may have for corona patients and general public and in an endeavour to grant utmost relief to those suffering, sometimes unwittingly, Courts overstep and pass certain orders which may not be capable of being implemented – Matters which have transnational and international ramifications, High Court should normally refrain from issuing directions in such matters, especially when such matters of national level are being considered by this Court in separate proceedings – High Court should normally consider possibility of implementation of directions given by it and such directions which are incapable of being implemented should be avoided – Doctrine of impossibility would be equally applicable to Court orders as well – Impugned directions need to be treated by State Government only as observations and as advice of Court and not directions passed by Court – However, it would not mean that State Government is not to work in direction of providing facilities to the patients and citizens of State which are capable of being implemented as per guidance of High Court – State Government will make every endeavour to provide as many facilities as possible – Impugned Order stayed. (Paras 7, 11, 12 and 13)
Facts of the case:
Instant petition has been filed by the State of Uttar Pradesh challenging the order dated 17.05.2021 passed by the Division Bench of the High Court in Public Interest Litigation No. 574 of 2020 in Re: Inhuman condition of quarantine centres and for providing better treatment to corona positive. petitioner is aggrieved by the order dated 17.05.2021 passed by High Court in which Order direction has been issued by High Court that every ‘B’ Grade and ‘C’ Grade town of the State should be provided with at least 20 ambulances, and further that every village should be provided with at least 2 ambulances having Intensive Care Unit facilities, and the same should be done within one month. Some other directions have also been issued.
Findings of Court:
It is a normal practice, which is also desirable, that such matters of public importance are dealt with by Bench presided over by the Chief Justice, but since constitution of Benches is the prerogative of the Chief Justice, it would be for Chief Justice of the High Court to consider such aspect and pass appropriate orders.
Result : Directions issued. Impugned Order stayed.
ORDER :
1. This petition has been filed by the State of Uttar Pradesh challenging the order dated 17.05.2021 passed by the Division Bench of the High Court in Public Interest Litigation No. 574 of 2020 in Re: Inhuman condition of quarantine centres and for providing better treatment to corona positive.
2. At the outset, we may appreciate the efforts made by the High Court of Allahabad as well as various other High Courts in taking up the matters relating to management of COVID-19 in different parts of the country. The initiative in this regard by various High Courts is laudable. However, while dealing with such matters, because of the concern and anxiety which the courts may have for the corona patients and the general public, and in an endeavour to grant utmost relief to those suffering, sometimes unwittingly, the Courts overstep and pass certain orders which may not be capable of being implemented.
3. In the present case, the petitioner is aggrieved by the order dated 17.05.2021. According to Shri Tushar Mehta, learned Solicitor General appearing for the State of U.P., howsoever much the State may be desirous of implementing the directions issued by the High Court, the same are incapable of being implemented. As an example, learned SG has brought to our notice the direction as has been issued in paragraph 18 of the said order that every ‘B’ Grade and ‘C’ Grade town of the State should be provided with at least 20 ambulances, and further that every village should be provided with at least 2 ambulances having Intensive Care Unit facilities, and the same should be done within one month. Learned SG has submitted that there are over 97000 villages in the State of U.P. and it is practically and humanly impossible to provide two ambulances with such facilities in each village in the entire State in such a short period. Learned SG has stated that the endeavour of the State is to provide as many facilities as possible and they are prepared to work in that direction but the order issued to that effect which cannot be implemented would cause embarrassment to the State Government and officers who may not be able to implement the same and could be hauled up by the Court.
4. Another example which the learned SG has placed before us is in paragraph 17, whereby it has been directed that all nursing homes in the state should have oxygen facility on every bed, and nursing homes which have more than 20 beds should have at least 40 per cent beds as Intensive Care Units and of the designated 40 per cent, 25 per cent should have ventilators, 25 per cent should have High Flow Nasal Cannula and 50 per cent of the 40 per cent reserved beds should have bipap machines, which should be compulsory for all the nursing homes/hospitals in the State. Another direction pointed out is that all the 5 medical colleges in the State be upgraded at the level of Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute, Lucknow within a period four months, and if necessary, emergency laws should be applied for the acquisition of land for them. Learned SG submits that it is practically not feasible to upgrade the medical colleges as postgraduate institutes of the level of Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow especially in such a short period. The further submission is that certain directions/observations have also been made requiring big medical companies to manufacture vaccines after taking formula from just any of the vaccine manufacturers in the world and start producing vaccine, which also, according to learned SG, is incapable of being implemented by the State Government, and may also have national and international ramifications.
5. Learned SG has also brought to our notice that certain observations have been made with regard to the existing medical facilities in the State and the Court has observed that the entire medical system of the State pertaining to smaller cities and villages are “Ram Bharose”, i.e. in the hands of God. According to him, such observ
