University is bound to take care of the health of the students and teachers: High Court of Delhi

 IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI Date of decision: 11th May 2021 W.P.(C) 5263 2021 JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY TEACHERS ASSOCAITION THROUGH: MOUSHUMI BASU & ORS. Through: Mr. Abhik Chimni Mr. Lakshay Garg Mr. Shashwat Mehra Advocates M 98684 42108). ..... Petitioners JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY THROUGH: VICE CHANCELLOR & ANR. ..... Respondents Through: Ms.Monika Arora Standing Counsel with Mr. Shriram Tiwary Advocate for R 1. Tripathi Standing Counsel GNCTD with Mr. Aditya P Khanna Advocate. Santosh Kumar JUSTICE PRATHIBA M. SINGH Prathiba M. Singh J.This hearing has been done through video conferencing. CM APPL. 16182 20215263 2021 WP(C) 5263 2021 The present writ petition has been filed by the Students Union and the Teachers Union at the Jawaharlal Nehru Universityas also two Professors who teach at the University. The Petitioners are seeking various directions to the Respondents including a direction for setting up COVID care facilities in the University Campus as also a COVID response team and certain Oxygen facilities inside the University Campus premises. The case of the Petitioners is that due to the outbreak of the second wave of the COVID 19 pandemic around the second week of April the Petitioners wrote a letter to the Registrar of the Respondent University highlighting the alarming situation due to COVID 19 on the JNU campus seeking various steps to be taken for controlling the situation. Thereafter a notification is stated to have been issued on 18th April 2021 by the Deputy Registrar of the JNU constituting a COVID 10 task force and a COVID 19 response team in JNU. On 18th April 2021 another letter had again been sent by the Petitioners to the Registrar of JNU stating the massive surge of the number of positive cases within the JNU campus premises and highlighting the need for urgent steps to be taken. The same was followed up with further letters on 19th April 2021 to the Vice Chancellor JNU and on 23rd April 2021 to the ADM New Delhi requesting immediate intervention for setting up COVID care facilities within the campus. The Petitioners thereafter are stated to have contacted the SDM for setting up of the isolation and quarantine facilities. However despite repeated letters to the authorities of the University the Secretary of Ministry of Education the Secretary of the University Grants Commission etc. no action is stated to have been taken for setting up of a COVID care facility W.P.(C) 5263 2021 filed. within the campus premises. Further repeated letters to the SDM of the area have also not evoked any response. Hence the present petition has been The Petitioners themselves are stated to have requested the faculty of Centre for Social Medicine and Community Health for drawing of plans for COVID care which has submitted a proper proposal in this respect. Further there is also a plan which has been devised by the School of Life Sciences JNU for producing Oxygen within the campus itself. 7. Mr. Chimni ld. Counsel appearing for the Petitioners submits that the main grievance of the Petitioners is that administration of the University as also the Govt. Authorities to whom letters were written have been completely silent to the repeated requests of the Petitioners qua setting up a COVID care facility and oxygen production facilities. Accordingly they have been forced to approach this Court. He submits life and health of all residents occupants in the campus is under severe jeopardy. He further submits that there is no doubt that there is space within the JNU and the SDM along with the administration in the JNU ought to be directed to create a COVID care facility within which the faculty and the other Departments of the University are willing to cooperate. Ld. Counsel further submits that the JNU administration is guilty of `dereliction of duty’. Issue Notice. On behalf of the Respondent JNU Ms. Monika Arora ld. Counsel accepts notice and submits that since she is appearing on an advance copy she does not have instructions as to what steps have been taken within the University for dealing with the second wave of COVID 19 within the campus. She seeks time to take instructions from the relevant W.P.(C) 5263 2021 authorities. 10. Mr. Aditya P. Khanna ld. Counsel accepts notice on behalf of the GNCTD and the SDM and submits that since the entire campus is within the control of the JNU administration they are unable to do anything. However if the administration permits they are willing to coordinate with the faculty students and the administration in order to set up a COVID care facility which would be attached to some hospital. 11. Considering the rigour of the current COVID 19 pandemic wave and the correspondence which has been placed on record there is no doubt that the JNU administration ought to have reacted with swiftness and alacrity. The first letter was sent by the Petitioners i.e. the students and the teachers of JNU to the Administration on 13th April 2021 which shows that it has been almost a month since they have been following up but the same has completely failed to evoke a response. If this is true this would constitute gross neglect by the JNU administration in a situation which is completely alarming. The University is bound to take care of the health of the students and teachers and make available the facilities to the extent possible within the University campus especially considering the prevalent shortages for hospital beds etc. Judicial notice can be taken of the fact that various organisations and institutions have gone out of their way during the current pandemic to make various facilities available to their employees and other stakeholders in order to safeguard their health during the current surge of the COVID 19 pandemic. The JNU ought not to be an exception in this regard. As per the numbers pleaded in the writ petition there were total of 74 cases around 18th April 2021 which has increased to 211 as on 7th May 2021. If these figures are correct there has been a three fold increase in the W.P.(C) 5263 2021 number of cases in just three weeks. In view of the above the following directions are issued: i) The Registrar JNU to immediately give instructions to the ld. counsel and file a status report as to what are the steps taken by the administration of the JNU in respect of the requests made and letters written by the Petitioners administration for dealing with the COVID 19 pandemic situation in the JNU campus since 2020 and especially since 13th April 2021. ii) The Vice Chancellor Registrar of JNU to also ascertain the necessity and feasibility in respect of creation of the COVID care facility in the JNU campus and file a status report thereof. The report shall also take into consideration the proposals given by the Centre for Social Medicine and Community Health as also the proposal for in house production of oxygen given by the School of Life Sciences. The authorities in JNU to consider if there is any modification required to the said proposals as has been suggested by the students and teachers associations. The modalities for creation of COVID care facility shall be mentioned in the report. The SDM ADM of the concerned area to also place on record a status report as to whether such a COVID care facility can be created at JNU in accordance with the guidelines applicable and if so indicating the manner in which the doctors and paramedics as also nurses would be made available W.P.(C) 5263 2021 for the said facility and whether they would be tied up with any particular hospital and if so name the said hospital after obtaining its concurrence. 13. The Registrar of the Respondent University shall convene a meeting today itself at 5 P.M chaired by the Vice Chancellor along with the other internal administrative staff as also the concerned SDM ADM of the area to work out the formalities and the protocols in this respect. 14. A second meeting shall also be convened by the Registrar chaired by the Vice Chancellor other administrative staff SDM ADM concerned along with six representatives of the Students and the Teachers Union as also the departments which have given the proposals at 11 AM tomorrow i.e. 12th May 2021 to discuss the said proposals letters for setting up of a COVID care facility in the JNU campus. The said meetings can be held through a virtual 15. Let the status reports explaining the feasibility modalities and timelines for setting up of a covid care centre preferably with oxygenated beds as directed be emailed by both the JNU administration as also the ADM SDM of the concerned area to the Court Master by 9 A.M. on 13th May 2021. 16. List on 13th May 2021 at 2:30 PM. 17. The digitally signed copy of this order duly uploaded on the official website of the Delhi High Court www.delhihighcourt.nic.in shall be treated as the certified copy of the order for the purpose of ensuring compliance. No physical copy of orders shall be insisted by any authority entity or litigant. MAY 11 2021 mw AK PRATHIBA M. SINGH J W.P.(C) 5263 2021 

Summary: Judicial notice can be taken of the fact that various organizations and institutions have gone out of their way, during the current pandemic, to make various facilities available to their employees and other stakeholders, in order to safeguard their health during the current surge of the COVID- 19 pandemic. The JNU ought not to be an exception in this regard. This was held in JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY TEACHERS ASSOCIATION THROUGH: MOUSHUMI BASU &amp; ORS.v. JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY THROUGH: VICE CHANCELLOR &amp; ANR [W.P.(C) 5263/2021] in the High Court of Delhi by single bench consisting of JUSTICE PRATHIBA M. SINGH. The facts are that the writ petition has been filed by the Students Union and the Teachers Union at JNU. The Petitioners are seeking various directions to the Respondents including a direction for setting up COVID care facilities in the University Campus, a COVID response team, and certain Oxygen facilities inside the University Campus premises. The counsel for the petitioner submitted that the main grievance of the Petitioners is that administration of the University as also the Govt. Authorities to whom letters were written have been completely silent to the repeated requests of the Petitioners qua setting up a COVID care facility and oxygen production facilities. Accordingly, they have been forced to approach this Court. The right to life and health of all the residents/occupants on the campus is under severe jeopardy. The counsel for the respondent submitted, she does not have instructions as to what steps have been taken within the University for dealing with the second wave of COVID-19 within the campus. She seeked time to take instructions from the relevant authorities. The Counsel on behalf of the GNCTD and the SDM submitted that if the administration permits, they are willing to coordinate with the faculty, students, and the administration, in order to set up a COVID care facility, which would be attached to some hospital. The court observed that “The first letter was sent by the Petitioners i.e., the students and the teachers of JNU to the Administration on 13th April 2021, which shows that it has been almost a month since they have been following up but the same has completely failed to evoke a response. If this is true, this would constitute gross neglect by the JNU administration in a situation which is completely alarming.”