The Allahabad High Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh governmment to pay Rs 25 lakh compensation to the family of a young advocate who died due to dengue.  The court has also asked all district collectors to take necessary measures to prevent dengue in the areas under their jurisdiction.

The order was passed by a bench of Justice PKS Baghel and Justice Piyush Aggarwal on a PIL filed by an advocate BP Mishra. His young son, also a lawyer, died of dengue in 2016. Advocate Mishra wrote to the Chief Justice complaining of negligence in treatment. Accepting the letter as a Public Interest Litigation, the court  took up the case.

The court said that the young man died due to doctors not being able to find out the exact cause of the disease. Doctors did not know that he had dengue and  administered him antibiotics which proved fatal for the advocate-patient. The court sought an answer from the State government in the matter. It was informed by the State government that all measures have been taken to prevent vector borne diseases.

The court has directed the State government to provide sufficient funds for the dialysis unit at Swarooprani Nehru Hospital. It has also said that special screening centers and blood separation units should be kept fully functional so that dengue patients do not face any difficulty in treatment.

Thirty seven Centennial Surveillance Hospitals have been set up across the State, where vector borne diseases like dengue, chikungunya are examined. In addition, more than 32 blood separation units have been installed where platelets are produced. The court has directed the District Magistrates to self-monitor the action plan prepared for the prevention of diseases like dengue and chikungunya and the chief medical officer of the district will implement these schemes.

— India Legal Bureau