Supreme Court rejects Centre's petition against Karnataka HC

Karnataka crossed active caseload of five lakh with 49,058 new Covid cases on Thursday.

The Supreme Court on Friday refused the Centre's plea to stay the Karnataka High Court order asking it to increase the supply of medical oxygen to the state from 962 metric tonnes (MT) to 1,200 MT per day. A bench of justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah observed that the Karnataka High Court order was a "careful, calibrated and judicious exercise of power” and it did not require any intervention of the top court. 

While hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on May 5, the High Court had observed that Karnataka's projected requirement of medical oxygen was 1,471 MT per day as on April 30, 2021 but the Centre had agreed to increase the allocation from 862 MT to only 962 MT per day, reported Hindustan Times. According to the additional chief secretary of Karnataka, the requirement was likely to increase to 1,792 MT by May 5, 2021.

Considering the requirement, the HC directed the state government to submit a representation to the central government and until then, it directed the Centre to supply 1200 MT of oxygen per day to the state. The Centre challenged the order by stating that the increase in allocation of oxygen would lead to "mismanagement of resources" and "create a further chaotic environment in an already overburdened system.”

Justice DY Chandrachud said though the state recorded 3.95 lakh cases, it had requested 1,700 tonnes of oxygen with a minimum requirement of 1,100 MT. Karnataka reported an active caseload of around five lakh with 49,058 new Covid cases on Thursday.