The Telangana High Court has directed the state government to submit an affidavit detailing measures taken to prevent another fire tragedy at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Adilabad, where five infants died and 22 people were injured.
A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice P. Sam Koshy and Justice Suddala Chalapathi Rao directed that the affidavit be filed by an officer not below the rank of secretary. The court adjourned the matter to November 5.
The directions were issued on two interlocutory applications filed by senior advocate Chikkudu Prabhakar in a pending public interest litigation concerning fire safety in government hospitals. The applications sought compensation of ₹50 lakh for each of the families of the five infants who died in the fire that broke out in the children’s ward of RIMS on September 21.
The proceedings place the focus not only on the incident at the Adilabad hospital but also on the wider compliance responsibilities of the Telangana government’s public healthcare system. The applications seek directions for authorities to submit a compliance report on fire-safety guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court and the Rajasthan High Court.
The counsel also sought directions for government hospitals across Telangana to obtain fire no-objection certificates and undergo fire-safety audits. The requests would require authorities to document the safety status of hospitals and report on compliance with the guidelines cited before the court.
Prabhakar submitted that the authorities had failed to provide adequate safety measures and essential medical facilities at RIMS despite an earlier division bench order dated October 15, 2024. The submission has brought the question of compliance with previous judicial directions into the current proceedings.
The applications also seek action, in accordance with law, against officials found responsible for the incident. Relying on Supreme Court judgments, the counsel argued that the families of the deceased infants were entitled to public law compensation for the alleged violation of fundamental rights.
The High Court’s direction now requires the state government to place its account of the measures taken before the bench through an affidavit filed by a senior officer. The court is scheduled to consider the matter again on November 5.
