The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the city authorities to consider a public interest litigation (PIL) as a representation regarding the collection of accurate data concerning the spread of dengue in the national capital this year.
The petitioner, Savera Sandesh, a local Hindi newspaper, mentioned in its petition that the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) typically releases data every year concerning dengue cases. However, for the first time this year, the MCD stopped releasing such data.
“In case of dengue fever, almost every year MCD releases the data on a weekly basis, which helps the general public stay informed about cleanliness,” the petition said.
When attempting to obtain data from other newspapers and sources, the petotioner was surprised to learn that the MCD has not been releasing dengue data since August 5, 2023.
The Delhi government’s standing counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi informed the court that filing a petition before the court should not replace the procedure established under the Right to Information Act. However, they assured the court that the authorities would treat the plea as a representation.
The counsel explained that this year’s spread of the disease was due to floods, and the petitioner should have first sought information from government authorities instead of directly approaching the court.
To which, a bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula said that everyone has the right to know and asked the authorities to consider the PIL as a representation, as suggested.
Given the government’s stance, the court stated that no further orders were necessary regarding the PIL.
The petitioner alleged that there were more dengue patients this year due to a severe strain of the virus.
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