Gorakhpur tragedy: Allahabad HC seeks UP govt's reply on PIL urging probe

The Allahabad High Court on Friday sought the Uttar Pradesh government's response to a Public Interest Litigation seeking a judicial inquiry into the recent deaths of children at a state-run hospital in Gorakhpur.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice D B Bhosle and Justice Yashwant Verma asked the state government to file a counter affidavit on the PIL and fixed August 29 as the next date of hearing.

Several PILs have been filed in the high court by lawyers and social activists demanding a judicial probe and stern action against those responsible for the tragedy.

The court has clubbed them all together.

The petitioners have alleged carelessness on the part of doctors at BRD Hospitals led to the tragedy.

They said encephalitis has been claiming lives of children in Gorakhpur and adjoining eastern UP districts for several years but no effective steps have been taken to curb the outbreak of the disease.