S. B. SINHA, C. J.

( 1 ) PITIABLE conditions of the inmates of a government Hostel for blind found placed in a Telugu Daily newspaper "eenadu", which was published on 25-3-2001. raksha , a non-voluntary organization, sent a letter to the Chairman of the High Court Legal services Committee, enclosing the paper clipping of the said report, stating that due to lack of safety measures in the said blind hostel a student fell from the building and died and therefore requested for intervention in the matter in the interest of justice. The said letter was taken up as public interest litigation.

( 2 ) THE paper report inter alia states that due to the negligence of the authorities, one student of Government hostel for Blind at dilsukhnagar has fallen down from the hostel Building and died. The newspaper report further discloses that the authorities have paid deaf ear to the request of the students to put grills in the open area from where the student had fallen and that despite the incident, the authorities have not taken any preventive measures. It was further stated that the Hostel has 32 rooms meant for 75 students, but there are about 125 students and a subsistence allowance of Rs. 20. 00 per month is being paid to each student, which is not sufficient. It was further alleged that bed- sheets, plate and glass etc. were not given to the students for the last four years. The letter also highlights the poor condition of the food being supplied to the students. It was also alleged that the kitchen was stinking with foul smell and that medicines were not being supplied to the sick students in spite of a sum of Rs. 4. 00 lakhs having been sanctioned by the Government and the students have to buy medicines from outside with their own money.

( 3 ) IN the counter-affidavit filed by the district Collector, Hyderabad, who is in charge of the said hostel, he has denied and disputed the allegations made in the newspaper.

( 4 ) WE, by our order dated 14-6-2001, requested Sri P. Balakrishna Murthy, a prominent long standing Advocate of this court to visit the hostel and submit a status report. Accordingly Sri P. Balakrishna murthy has filed a report before this Court. Paragraph 2 of his report, which is in the following terms, is disturbing in nature: rather unexpectedly my office received telephone calls on one afternoon in the 1 st week of July in my absence from one Narsimhulu said to be the Asst. Director of the Office of the Commissioner, Disabled Welfare department. Again on the same evening he phoned again stating that he wants to meet me. In the evening he along with one G. Appalanaidu, dy. Director (Employment) Office of the Commissioner, Disabled Welfare dept. , came to my office at about 6. 45 p. m. and informed me that the commissioner of the Dept. , directed them to arrange my visit to the Govt. Hostel of Blinds, Bhavaninagar, dilsukhnagar, Hyderabad. This, I was told, was planned in pursuance of the letter I served on the Govt. Pleader concerned viz. , Shri Prabhakar Reddy. I was not able to restrain myself from being very unhappy as the above sponsored visit will be wholly tailored one and I will not be able to see for myself the factual position prevailing in the hostel. I felt very uncomfortable and could not hold back the same from the above officers and I told them that it is not fair for them to prepare my visit to the hostel and I will be constrained to inform the Court about their visit to my office. He, however, visited the Government Hostel for Blind, Bhavaninagar, Dilsukhnagar, hyderabad on 17-7-2001 at 11-30 a. m. On verifying the Attendance Register, the learned counsel found that some employees are absent. According to the report, in each room there are about eight inmates, but there are only two cots therein. The cots are made of iron and no mattresses have been provided to the students. The inmates have been sleeping on empty gunny. bags. The pillows provided to them, had been emanating bad smell. Though the capacit

Click Here to Read the rest of this document