Hours after being pulled up by the Delhi High Court over its order to convert 100 rooms of Ashoka Hotel as a Covid Health facility for Justices and other judicial officers of the Delhi High Court and their families, the Delhi government on Tuesday evening said it is withdrawing an order. “Issued directions to withdraw this order immediately,” Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia tweeted.
Earlier, Delhi High Court said, “We have not made any such request that you. When did we ask for a 100-bed facility at a five-star hotel? We had only said if a judicial officer or a judge or their family is infected, they should get hospital admission.”
“Our concern is with respect to judicial officers in lower judiciary who have to hold court. We have already lost two judicial officers,” the High Court further added. In the order, the Delhi government said Primus Hospital in Chanakyapuri will run the Community Health Centre (CHC) facility at Ashoka Hotel.\
Pulling up the Delhi govt over the order, the High Court also said, “Can you imagine that we can ask for something like this. People are not getting hospitals and we are asking you for beds in luxury hotels. Media is not wrong. Your order is wrong,”.
On Sunday, in an order issued by the sub-divisional magistrate of Chanakyapuri, it was stated that the COVID facility at Ashoka Hotel will be associated with Primus Hospital. The hospital will run the facility at Ashoka Hotel and also handle the biomedical waste disposal. The staff of the hotel will be provided all protective gear and given basic adequate training, stated the order.