Supreme Court Issues Notice To Rajasthan Govt On Plea Seeking Probe In Death Of Over 100 Infants At Kota Hospital

Supreme Court on Monday sought response from the Rajasthan government on a petition seeking an investigation into the death of over 100 infants at JK Lon Maternal hospital in Kota. It is to be noted that a bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant issued a notice to the CM Ashok Gehlot-led state government on a petition filed by Dr K K Aggarwal and social worker B Mishra seeking probe into the death of new-born babies.

In the JK Lon Hospital in Kota, nearly 100 children lost their lives allegedly due to lack of equipment and negligence of the administration. The report had indicated that infants lost their lives due to hypothermia, a medical emergency that occurs when the body temperature falls below 95 F (35 C). The normal body temperature is 98.6 F (37 C). The report further said that 22 nebulisers out of 28 were dysfunctional and 81 infusion pumps out of 111 were not working.

Also, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had taken cognisance of the incident and issued a notice to the state government. The notice was issued to the Rajasthan Chief Secretary. The notice asked the state to submit a detailed report within four weeks and also mention the steps being taken to address the issue. The NHRC had further asked the state government to ensure that no such deaths occur in the future.

Also Read: NHRC Sends Notice To Rajasthan Govt Over Deaths Of More Than 100 Infants In Kota Hospital

However, hospital authorities stated the number of deaths reported at the health facility in 2019 was less than 1,005 in 2018. According to the hospital superintendent, the children died mainly due to low birth weight. As per the official data, the hospital has witnessed a decline in such deaths in last six years. In 2014, 15,719 patients were admitted, out of which 1,198 died. In 2019, 16,892 patients were admitted out of which 940 died.

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