A public Interest litigation on the rising number of swine flu cases in Maharashtra has sought State action to prevent and control the illness. The petition has alleged State apathy and has sought more preventive measures.
"The petitioner seeks establishing of laboratories for testing Swine Flu (H1N1) samples due to which swine flu cases can be controlled," the petition filed by lawyer Datta Mane has stated.
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday gave four weeks to the Maharashtra Government to respond to the petition and state on record the measures taken to control swine flu.
But the division bench headed by Chief Justice Mohit Shah also rapped the petitioner for failing to do proper homework. "You don't want to do anything else but read the newspapers and file a petition, so that the other side keeps running," the court said.
It said that while pendency of cases was high in the court, lawyers were filing petitions. "Have you gone to public hospitals to find out what they are doing? You are only reading papers. You are like armchair philosophers," the court said.
It also remarked that at a time when the number of swine flu cases were high, it wanted the government machinery and the doctors to concentrate on controlling the spread, instead of running to the court.
The court also asked the basis for filing the petition. "Unless any statistics is available with him, how can he file such a petition? He has only quoted newspaper reports," Shekhar Bhise, appearing for the State government, said.
The court asked the petitioner if he alleged about any inaction on the part of the State. "There is no system in place. What are the preventive measures taken up by the government? There is no awareness about the disease. There is only one government testing laboratory in Mumbai," the petitioner said.
He also claimed that Gujarat government gave Rs. five lakh to the deceased swine flu patient, while the Maharashtra government "did not show any sensitivity or concern" about it.
The petition has also sought adequate supply of medicines to all the hospitals in the State.
A week ago, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said that the State government had ordered adequate supply of Tamiflu tablets. He had also announced free treatment to poor patients.
