POINTERS OF THE DEVELOPMENT
Judicial Commission
Setting up a judicial commission to inquire into oxygen shortage deaths is among a slew of suggestions made by petitioners in a group of PILs pertaining to Covid-19 management in Goa. The High Court of Bombay at Goa had asked the petitioners to submit their consolidated suggestions to the court for finding solutions to various issues in the wake of the pandemic that has so far claimed 2,937 lives in India’s smallest state.
Composition of Commission
The South Goa Advocates Association (SGAA), one of the petitioners, said in one of its suggestions that some Covid-19 patients had lost their lives only due to oxygen shortage. It said some of them were breadwinners, and that there were children who had lost both parents. These families, the SGAA said, need to be identified and compensated. “Accordingly, it is proposed that this Hon’ble Court may set up an inquiry commission headed by a retired judge of this Hon’ble Court along with a Judicial Magistrate First Class, two independent doctors, a police officer of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police and other necessary members along with staff”
Role of the Commission
The SGAA suggested that the commission should not only trace the victims and the dependents but also determine the amount of compensation to be paid to the dependents. It said that this commission should also be tasked with identifying negligence on part of government officials, if any, that led to the shortage of oxygen supply in the state at the peak of the second wave in May.
Image curtsey: Photo by Anantha Krishna A on Unsplash
