Bombay high court: Centre more worried about firm behind ‘faulty’ ventilators than patients – Times of India

MUMBAI: The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay high court on Friday slammed the Centre for its “insensitive” approach over the issue of supply of more than 100 dysfunctional ventilators to hospitals in Marathwada region of Maharashtra.
A vacation bench of Justices R V Ghuge and B U Debadwar noted that the Union government was more concerned about the company that manufactured and supplied the dysfunctional ventilators than the lives of citizens. The bench was hearing petitions pertaining to Covid-19 pandemic.
Earlier this week, several hospitals in Aurangabad had told the court that 113 ventilators, out of 150 supplied by the Centre under the PM Cares Fund, were defective. The court had then sought to know from the Union government what action it proposes to take on the issue.
On Friday, assistant solicitor general Ajay Talhar submitted an affidavit filed by the union health ministry, which stated that the ventilators were not supplied under the PM Cares Fund.
The affidavit further said the company, from which the ventilators were procured, had said that there was nothing wrong with the devices and the ventilators it had supplied to other states were functioning properly