The vacation bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices Hemant Gupta and V. Ramasubramanian, while hearing an SLP against the decision of the Gujarat High Court sealing the hospitals run by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation for lack of NOC from Fire Department of the Corporation and Building Use Permission, on Friday, June 11th, 2021, allowed, as an interim measure, the buildings without an NOC from the Fire Department and building use certificates, may continue to be used by hospitals and nursing homes in the state of Gujarat.
Earlier in February, a PIL was filed in the Gujarat High Court after fire broke out in Shrey Hospital, Ahmedabad, subsequent to which the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation issued a Public Notice stating that it was necessary to obtain Building Use permission and fire NOC before occupying any premises, failing which appropriate actions will be initiated against them.
Senior Advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the petitioners apprised the court that the petitioners were served with notices to produce the requisite permissions, not giving enough time to the petitioners to even assess the situations and threatened to seal the hospitals within three days.
Senior Advocate Singh told the Court that it will be hazardous to give up hundreds and thousands of beds, while also admitting the importance of permissions that have to be given and taken, adding that the court may pass a suitable interim order until something could be worked out.
Observing the disparity in the bed capacity of different hospitals, justice Gupta suggested using different yardsticks to be applied for bigger hospitals and small nursing homes.
Taking note of the Senior Advocate’s submission that the sealing of the premise will be against the interest of the public and that the Senior Advocate acknowledges the notice for the state and seeks more time to come up with a workable situation, the court issued directions prohibiting coercive actions against the petitioner, that was later changed to cover ‘anyone facing the persisting problem’ after Senior Advocate prayed for modification.
