HC terms power failure in Rajindra Hospital 'shocking'; seeks chief secretary’s affidavit  

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has described as "shocking" the absence of an automatic power switch-over system at Rajindra Hospital in Patiala, which resulted in a two-minute power disruption.

The Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sumeet Goel also directed the Punjab Chief Secretary to file an affidavit explaining the situation.

The Bench made it clear that the affidavit should also contain details of other public establishments equipped with automatic switch-over.

“It is not surprising but shocking to note that in a public establishment like a hospital, where electric breakup of even a few seconds can be fatal for certain patients, especially those on life support, the electric supply was disrupted for 13 minutes. Though the backup was available, the same took two minutes to be functional, because it had to be operated manually,” the Bench asserted.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by advocate Sunaina in person. At the onset, the Bench observed that a report submitted in court confirmed that the power outage occurred at 11:44 am on January 24 and was restored only at 11:57 am after 13 minutes. The backup power became functional at 11:46 am as it had to be switched on manually.

The Bench added the report also made it clear that automatic system for switch-over from regular electric supply to the DG-set was unavailable. The process took time as it was required to be carried out manually.

The court added Rajindra Hospital was “one of the premier hospitals” in the district, catering to large number of patients not only from Patiala, but adjoining districts. “In these modern times, it is of utmost importance that hospitals ought to have automatic switch-over from the normal electric supply line to DG-set instantaneously,” the Bench asserted.

Expressing dissatisfaction with the state counsel’s inability to justify the lack of an automatic switch-over system, the court took note of the contention that another power failure occurred on February 4.

“The counsel for the State of Punjab is unable to satisfy us as to why this deficiency of automatic switch-over from the regular supply lines to the DG-set was not available at the relevant point of time. The petitioner appearing in person has also submitted that recently again on February 4 another incident of power disruption took place,” the Bench observed. The case will be taken up again on February 25.

The court on a previous date of hearing had directed the State to clarify whether a backup power supply was available at the government hospital. The directive came amid concerns over the interruption of a cancer surgery due to a power failure in the hospital's emergency operation theatre.

The incident, captured in a viral video showing a doctor voicing concerns over the power tripping and its impact on patient safety, had sparked a debate on the healthcare infrastructure in Punjab. Advocate-petitioner Sunaina had also prayed for stringent measures to ensure reliable power supply to all government and semi-government hospitals, particularly in critical areas like emergency operation theatres. She had also urged the court to initiate disciplinary action against the officials responsible for the lapse.