Taking cognisance of the report submitted by East Singhbhum District and Sessions Judge on death of over 100 children at MGM Hospital, Jamshedpur, the Jharkhand High Court on Friday sought a detailed report from the State Government and directors of the State-run medical colleges on the issue.
A Bench of Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh took suo motu cognisance of the report submitted by East Singhbhum District and Sessions Judge Manoj Prasad and directed the Chief Secretary; Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Director, Health Services and the Directors of RIMS, MGM (Jamshedpur) and PMCH in Dhanbad to submit a comprehensive report on the issue.
The matter was also converted into a Public Interest litigation and the respondents have been asked to come with a report in two weeks.
Earlier, on the directions of the High Court, the District Judge had visited MGM and inspected the paediatric ward of the Hospital that has gained notoriety after media reports of the death of more than 103 infants and kids in July-August.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has also taken suo motu cognisance of the issue and has sent a notice to Chief Secretary giving a time of six weeks to reply. The Commission has observed that painful deaths of children and infants, in a large number, were a matter of concern.
Notably, after MGM reports of over 103 kids’ death at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in the Capital City also shook the State. According to RIMS authorities, 103 children died due to various reasons at the State’s largest Hospital between August 1 and August 28. The hospital stated that out of 4,855 children admitted of various ages from January to August this year, 4,195 children were saved, while 13 per cent of them could not be saved.
Although, at first it came to light that the deaths were caused due to malnutrition among other reasons, authorities in the Government later stated that the deaths were due to various other reasons, including encephalitis and malaria. The Health Minister also shifted RIMS Superintendent SK Chaudhary from his post.