Delhi HC clarifies, no request made for COVID facilities in five star hotel for judges 

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday said it has not made any request for creating COVID-19 facilities for its judges, staff and their families in a five star hotel.

Taking suo motu cognisance of the news reports which said that 100 rooms of Ashoka Hotel in national capital have been converted into a COVID health facility for judges of Delhi High Court on its request, a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli said, "No communication has been made to anyone in this regard".

“Can we as an institution say that create a special facility for us? Will this not be blatantly discriminatory that people can’t get treatment and there is a facility in five star hotel for us?”, the bench said.

Justice Palli said, “You don’t have oxygen, and you are talking about having 100 beds facility for us. Its unfortunate.”

Justice Sanghi added “All that we wanted was, in case they need admission, it may be provided. And that has been converted to such an order.”

"We have not made any such request for taking over facilities of a five star hotel," the bench said and directed the Delhi government to "take corrective steps immediately".

In an order issued by the sub-divisional magistrate of Chanakyapuri on April 25, it was stated that the COVID facility at Ashoka Hotel will be associated with Primus Hospital.

The order also said that the facility was being set up on the request of the Delhi High Court.

Terming the order as "wrong", the bench said the image being projected as a result of it was that the Delhi High Court judges have taken it for their benefit or that the Delhi government has done it to appease the court.

“You cannot make an exclusive facility like this for a class. The order is wrong”, the High Court bench said.

The high court also did not agree with senior advocate Rahul Mehra's claim that the media played "mischief", saying "the media is not wrong".

It said that the media only pointed out what was wrong in the order and it was the SDM's order which was wrong.

With PTI inputs