The Delhi High Court on Monday said political leaders have no business to “hoard” stocks of Covid-19 medicines already in shortage and the drugs must be surrendered, as it expressed dissatisfaction over the inquiry by the Delhi Police on allegations against politicians on this issue, terming the report “vague and whitewashed”.
The Delhi Police had told the High Court that political leaders, including BJP MP Gautam Gambhir and President of All India Youth Congress BV Srinivas, accused of hoarding Covid-19 medicines, were voluntarily helping people in getting medical aid and no one has been defrauded. The submissions made by the police in its status report, however, did not go down well with the court.
“Just because some political figures are involved, you will not investigate, we will not allow this,” the court said, adding it would have appreciated if the police had inquired into specific allegations levelled against each person and then filed the report. Some political leaders were accused of hoarding and distributing medicines, including Remdesivir, in the national capital.
“How many people have died because of the shortage of these medicines, do you realise? So fix some responsibility,” the court told the police. However, the court said since it is projected the medicines were procured for public charity, it hopes and expects they are not hoarded for political gains.
A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh asked the police to file a better status report within a week clearly mentioning how medicines, in huge shortage and sold at higher rates in black market, were procured by few persons in large quantities.
“Political leaders have no business to hoard stocks of these medicines. We expect them to surrender to the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) which will then distribute it to the poor and needy people at government hospitals. This is the best way to do public service,” it said, and added if their intention is to do public good, they should themselves go and surrender the stock.
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