Ahmedabad: “Seek a CBI inquiry to find out Covid numbers,” the chief justice quipped on Friday when a petitioner was vehemently arguing that the state government should be directed to publish correct data on daily basis, and at the same time questioning the veracity of the figures.
Citing discrepancy in figures of death due to Covid-19 in Surat, a PIL was seeking audit of death numbers. The state government submitted that it has been publishing the figures on a daily basis, but when the argument continued and the petitioner raised doubts about the authenticity of the numbers, Chief Justice Vikram Nath told the petitioner that if he had so many doubts about the published Covid numbers, he should demand a CBI inquiry. With this comment, the judges dismissed the plea.
The PIL had sought HC directions to the government for regular revelation of Covid-19 related data on a daily basis – figures of deaths, tests and how many people tested positive etc. The petitioner had cited news reports and questioned authenticity of details related to Covid deaths, particularly in Surat, when the industrial town became Covid hotspot last month.
The state government defended itself by submitting that the details are regularly published on its portal and the newspapers also publish the information regularly. To this, the petitioner’s counsel demanded that the news should be published in dailies having sizeable circulations so that people at large have fair idea of the Covid situation. The chief justice showed that he was fed up with the demand and said that if the petitioner was so suspicious about the details published by the government, he should seek CBI inquiry for the numbers.
Citing discrepancy in figures of death due to Covid-19 in Surat, a PIL was seeking audit of death numbers. The state government submitted that it has been publishing the figures on a daily basis, but when the argument continued and the petitioner raised doubts about the authenticity of the numbers, Chief Justice Vikram Nath told the petitioner that if he had so many doubts about the published Covid numbers, he should demand a CBI inquiry. With this comment, the judges dismissed the plea.
The PIL had sought HC directions to the government for regular revelation of Covid-19 related data on a daily basis – figures of deaths, tests and how many people tested positive etc. The petitioner had cited news reports and questioned authenticity of details related to Covid deaths, particularly in Surat, when the industrial town became Covid hotspot last month.
The state government defended itself by submitting that the details are regularly published on its portal and the newspapers also publish the information regularly. To this, the petitioner’s counsel demanded that the news should be published in dailies having sizeable circulations so that people at large have fair idea of the Covid situation. The chief justice showed that he was fed up with the demand and said that if the petitioner was so suspicious about the details published by the government, he should seek CBI inquiry for the numbers.
