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2026 Supreme(Online)(Jhk) 1153
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI
M. S. Sonak, CJ, Rajesh Shankar, J
Onkar Vishwakarma – Appellant
Versus
State Of Jharkhand – Respondent
W.P. (PIL) No. 920 of 2021
Important Points
Subject
Public Interest Litigation - Healthcare and Environment
Act Referred
Headnote
(B) Public Interest Litigation - Scope - Expansion of inquiry by Court to protect fundamental rights of a larger class of citizens - State's failure to operationalize burn units as per NPPMBI guidelines constitutes a breach of constitutional mandate.
(C) Compensatory Jurisprudence - Constitutional tort - Victim compensation under S. 357-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973/S. 396 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 - Jurisdiction of lower court to determine compensation for victims.
Facts of the case:
The petitioner filed a Public Interest Litigation following an incident in Hazaribagh involving kerosene-induced fire casualties, highlighting the lack of specialized burn care, the use of sub-standard essential commodities, and the absence of adequate medical facilities in the region.
Findings of Court:
The Court observed that the State’s healthcare system suffered from systemic failures, specifically regarding burn care infrastructure across 24 districts, despite budgetary mandates. Directions were issued for operationalizing burn units, enhancing medical logistics, and establishing monitoring committees.
Issues: The primary issues concerned the state-wide lack of specialized burn medical infrastructure, the constitutional rights of victims to accessible healthcare, and the mechanism for providing compensation to the victims of the kerosene fire.
Ratio Decidendi: The right to life under Article 21 encompasses the right to health and access to specialized medical intervention; the State cannot cite financial constraints as a defense for failing to provide basic, time-sensitive emergency healthcare.
Result: Writ petition disposed of with specific time-bound directions for the establishment and functionalization of burn units.
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Diksha Dwivedi
For the Respondents: Piyush Chitresh
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. public interest regarding systemic health failure following kerosene fire. (Para 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10) |
| 2. remedies for breach of fundamental rights and compensation jurisprudence. (Para 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21) |
| 3. expanding the scope of pil to enforce state-wide medical infrastructure. (Para 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30) |
| 4. right to health as an essential component of human dignity under article 21. (Para 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42) |
| 5. judicial directions for establishment and management of specialized burn care facilities. (Para 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48) |
Per M. S. Sonak, C.J.
1. We have heard the learned counsel for the parties.
2. The present writ petition has been filed in purported public interest, seeking, inter alia, the following reliefs: —
a) For issuance of a writ in the nature of mandamus directing the respondents to immediately put the surviving victims of the kerosene fire and other burn patients in the burn unit/department and, in the event such facility is not available at Sadar Hospital, Hazaribagh, to forthwith refer and admit such patients to the burn unit/department at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Ranchi;
b) For issuance of a writ in the nature of mandamus directing the respondents to provide medical treatment to all the victims free of cost, including medicines and other related expenses, to be borne by the State Government;
c) For issuance of a writ in the nature of mandamus directing the respondents to pay compensation to the legal heirs of persons who died in the kerosene fire incident in the district of Hazaribagh, to the extent of Rs. 50,00,000/-;
d) For issuance of a writ in the nature of mandamus directing the respondents to pay compensation to persons who have suffered disability due to injuries in the said incident, to the extent of Rs. 35,00,000/-;
e) For issuance of a writ in the nature of mandamus directing the respondents to pay compensation to the injured persons, including the ones who have incurred facial disfigurement, in the said incident, to the extent of Rs. 25,00,000/-.
3. This petition has been instituted in the backdrop of an unfortunate incident resulting in multiple deaths, burn injuries and fatalities, allegedly caused due to the use of highly inflammable kerosene supplied through the Public Distribution System in Hazaribagh. The petitioner has brought to the notice of this Court that several injured persons were admitted to Sadar Hospital, Hazaribagh, and, according to the petitioner, were not receiving adequate treatment owing to the absence of specialized burn care facilities.
4. It is the petitioner’s case that certain injured persons, including members of the same family, were admitted in general wards and required urgent transfer to dedicated burn units or to higher medical centres such as Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Ranchi. The petitioner has also alleged that essential medicines were not readily available at the Sadar Hospital, Hazaribagh, and had to be procured from outside sources.
5. The petitioner has further pleaded that, despite approaching the concerned authorities, including the hospital administration and district officials, no effective or timely action was taken to ensure proper treatment for the victims or to address their grievances.
6. A significant aspect of the petitioner’s grievance pertains to the nature of the commodity itself. It is pleaded that the kerosene supplied to the victims was highly adulterated, rendering it unfit for domestic use. Annexure 3, appended to the writ petition, contains the laboratory reports, including those from the Indian Oil Corporation, which reveal that the flash point of the said kerosene was a mere 13.5°C. This is significantly below the prescribed safety minimum of 35°C. Such a deviation, according to the petitioner, effectively transformed a domestic necessity into a lethal explo
