Infant deaths: HC asks Govt not to act upon probe report

SRINAGAR, July 19: The High Court today directed the State Government not to act upon the final report into the high infant mortality rate in the G B Pant Hospital till it takes a decision on a writ petition filed by former Medical Superintendent Javed Choudhary.
“Subject to the objections of the other side (Government), it is provided that if any interim or final report has been made by the inquiry officer it is kept subject to outcome of the CMP,” Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir said in his two-page order.
Justice Mir issued notices to the respondents who include the State Government and Director SKIMS Shoukat Zargar and directed them to respond within four weeks.
Zargar was appointed as the inquiry officer into the high infant mortality rate at G B Pant hospital earlier this year. He submitted his final report to the Government yesterday in which he blamed Choudhary for the mess in the hospital and subsequent deaths.
Choudhary, in his petition, has claimed that Zargar cannot be appointed as an inquiry officer against him since both were holding the same rank and designation.
He also accused Zargar of having a personal bias against him as the later had broken the locks of his room in the hospital and destroyed some of the relevant records. (PTI)