Centre moves Supreme Court against Karnataka High Court order on oxygen allocation

The Union government Thursday approached the Supreme Court against the Karnataka High Court May 5 order to enhance daily liquid medical oxygen (LMO) allocation for the state to 1200 MT, saying it would have a "cascading effect resulting into a total collapse of the system" in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic.

The Centre said the High Court's order was to be set aside as it "would ultimately lead to mismanagement of resources and create a further chaotic environment in an already overburdened system".

It said the issues transcended the boundaries of a particular state, as one or more states would be competing for the limited resources during the time of the pandemic, at the expense of others, ultimately requiring the top court's intervention for a comprehensive national plan.

Maintaining that since the entire nation is affected by the second wave of the pandemic, limited resources have to be put to judicious use, keeping in mind the overall situation.

The Centre said it had already increased the allocation of oxygen supply to Karnataka by 100MT per day, which meant an increase in the total allocation to 962 MT per day.

The Union government said the High Court failed to consider the rationale behind the allocation of oxygen and passed an order which would have a cascading effect resulting into a total collapse of the system. "The country is in the middle of a major once-in-the-century pandemic, with a virulent rapidly spreading the second wave... and all state governments have been working in a most professional, coordinated and efficient manner for Covid-19 management," it pointed out.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta mentioned the matter before a bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and M R Shah seeking urgent stay on the order. He said Karnataka was being supplied 962 MT LMO presently and the order needed to be stayed urgently. Mehta also submitted that the Centre would resolve the matter with the state.

The bench said the court did not have papers and it could not pass any order without reading the petition. The matter should be mentioned before the Chief Justice, the bench also said.

The Karnataka High Court had asked the state government to send an immediate representation to the Centre with a projected estimate of oxygen required for a week. Till it was done, the oxygen supply cap should be raised to 1200 MT per day with immediate effect.