Gujarat High Court expresses doubt about advocate general’s data

The Gujarat High Court has expressed doubts about the state government’s data on available beds. The HC reaction during a public interest litigation came in reaction to advocate general Kamal Trivedi’s submission that 53% of a total 71,021 beds across 1,224 dedicated Covid-19 facilities were occupied as on Monday.

“We are in serious doubt of this figure,” Chief Justice Vikram Nath said, adding that if what Trivedi said was true, 47% beds were available, but that did not seem to be the case. There is “so much noise about unavailability of beds and patients not admitted” he said, expressing doubts on the state’s data.

Focus of Trivedi’s data was on Ahmedabad, but the court was concerned about the entire state and the condition in smaller districts, he said. The court also expressed concern over shortage of Remdesivir injection. “The figures given or declared by the state on positive cases do not match with the actual number of cases who have tested positive and who require treatment,” the CJ said. He expressed concern over the oxygen shortage and allegations of black marketing. The court asked the state to ‘wake up conscious of these people’ and ensure such things did not happen.