Delhi High Court questions police's clean chit to politicians

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday expressed its displeasure with the Delhi Police clean chit to nine politicians, including city MP Gautam Gambhir and Indian Youth Congress (IYC) President B.V. Srinivas, in a matter connected with alleged hoarding of Covid medicines.

In its initial inquiry, Delhi Police, gave clean chit cricketer-turned-BJP MP Gambhir, Srinivas, Delhi Congress President Anil Kumar Chaudhary, ex-MLA Mukesh Sharma, BJP leader Harish Khurana, AAP MLA Dilip Pandey, among others.

The allegations against the politicians involved hoarding and distributing Covid-19 medicines, including Remdesivir, in the capital. In their report, the police said they were actually helping people without charging money and no one was defrauded.

Objecting to Delhi Police's clean chit to politicians, a bench comprising Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh said: "This is completely unacceptable. Political parties cannot make this pandemic a selling point. How could they purchase it without prescription?"

The court queried the police if it realises how many people have succumbed to the viral infection due to shortage of medicines. Asking it to act with responsibility, the bench told the Delhi Police: "They have no business to buy medicines and hoarding them to earn some goodwill. Now it seems that you are not interested in getting out the truth."

It added that if there were some political leaders involved in the matter, it should not deter the police from investigating it properly. "Your force should stand up, you have a duty towards the people... People all over are suffering," said the bench.

The bench further added that it expects the medicines to be surrendered to the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) and the Delhi Police to conduct a "proper investigation" and register an FIR, if a case is made out.

The bench told the police that it wants to see a complete status report. Emphasising the stocks of medicines held by political leaders should be handed over to the DGHS, the court said: "In case, they want to do public good, that would be the best way it can be done... we are appealing in good sense that this should not go, and they should go and surrender it with the DGHS."

The court made sharp observations during the hearing of a PIL seeking registration of an FIR on allegations that politicians are procuring large quantity of Covid-19 medicines even as patients were running around to get these medicines. It was alleged that while the oxygen cylinders were provided to those in need, but it was done for "political gains".