Indore High Court Pulls Up Government Over Unpaid Victims’ Medical Bills

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Madhya Pradesh High Court’s Indore Bench on Thursday expressed strong displeasure over alleged false information furnished by the state government in a reply regarding the gas pipeline accident in Vijay Nagar.

They also alleged that the government reply before the court incorrectly suggested that entire hospital expenses of all victims were unpaid.

During the hearing, the court directed the Juni Indore SDM to file an affidavit in support of the reply and be present personally at the next hearing scheduled for Friday.

The investigating officer appeared before the court and submitted the case diary. The government informed the court that all expenses incurred for treating the people injured in the gas pipeline accident had been borne by the state.

However, lawyers representing the victims disputed the claim. Counsel appearing for influencer Jini Jhala, who suffered burn injuries in the incident, told the court that her treatment continued after she was shifted from Indore to Ahmedabad and that hospital bills of around Rs 14 lakh had still not been paid by the government.

Lawyers representing other victims also told the court that the entire cost of their treatment had not been reimbursed.

Taking note of the submissions, the High Court questioned the government’s reply and asked how it could state that the complete treatment expenses had been paid when payments were allegedly still pending. The court expressed displeasure over the discrepancy and ordered the concerned official to remain personally present at the next hearing.

During the proceedings, the lawyer representing corporator Balmukund Soni appeared virtually. The court had earlier directed registration of a case against Soni, following which the matter was taken up against him as well. He has not been arrested so far.