Bihar govt obliged to fight ‘infodemic’, provide accurate death figures: High Court - Hindustan Times
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Bihar govt obliged to fight ‘infodemic’, provide accurate death figures: High Court

Jun 19, 2021 03:37 PM IST

The Bihar government is obliged to fight the “infodemic”, the Patna high court has said while pulling it up for its reluctance to put in the public domain the number of Covid-19 related deaths over the last year in the state

The Bihar government is obliged to fight the “infodemic”, the Patna high court has said while pulling it up for its reluctance to put in the public domain the number of Covid-19 related deaths over the last year in the state.

Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar flags off a mobile COVID-19 testing van, in Patna, Saturday, May 22, 2021. (PTI Photo)(PTI05_22_2021_000214A) (PTI)
Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar flags off a mobile COVID-19 testing van, in Patna, Saturday, May 22, 2021. (PTI Photo)(PTI05_22_2021_000214A) (PTI)

The court underlined transparency is the hallmark of good governance. “...the resistance is uncalled for, as such action is neither protected by any law nor in consonance with settled principles of good governance,” the court said in an order uploaded on Friday. It asked the government to correct its “myopic approach” and added it needs a reminder that “to cover with the veil of secrecy, the common routine business, is not in the interest of the public”. The court added such secrecy can seldom be legitimately desired.

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Bihar revised its Covid-19 toll from the second wave this month by adding 3,951 deaths. This marked an increase of 72.8%. The government attributed the increase in fatalities to earlier unaccounted ones at private hospitals, homes and due to post-disease complications. It undertook a 20-day exercise to audit Covid-19 deaths after the high court flagged irregularities in death figures in Buxar district on May 17. After verification, the state’s Covid-19 cumulative toll jumped to 9,375 on June 8, as against 5,424 reported a day earlier.

The court flagged inconsistency in death figures in Buxar district after affidavits filed by the state’s chief secretary and Patna divisional commissioner differed. The judges asked the government to verify facts from all sources before placing them in court. The court heard the case after at least 80 bodies were discovered floating in the Ganga in Buxar.

A bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Sanjay Kumar, in the order uploaded on Friday, cited the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, and also the Right to Information Act, 2005. It added the people have the right to “almost unequivocal terms of their access to information”.

“It is needless to say that private information of deceased individuals will still be protected under the Right to Privacy read into Article 21 of the Constitution but has to be balanced with ‘General public awareness’ and information dissemination,” the court said.

The court said the right to information is a fundamental right as recognised by the Supreme Court. It added the Bihar government is under obligation to provide information on the number of deaths for whatever reason during the pandemic.

The court said the annual reports that are to be uploaded on the internet have not been since 2018. It added this should be carried out within the next two months.

The court said the state is obligated to provide accurate information, fight the “infodemic” and heal the systemic neglect. “The Government of Bihar shall take all necessary action for sensitizing the general public, especially in the rural areas, of their Constitutional and Statutory right of uploading and obtaining information on the digital portal,” it said.

The court said the chief secretary, the additional chief secretary, or development commissioner shall forthwith convene a meeting of all concerned and ensure compliance to the order.

The bench said the number of deaths the government reported during the second wave of Covid-19 were incorrect. It cited the government’s affidavit dated June 10 and added it put the toll from the pandemic in the state at 9,375 and not 5424.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Arun Kumar is Senior Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times. He has spent two-and-half decades covering Bihar, including politics, educational and social issues.

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