Bihar Govt Reluctant To Put Covid-19 Death Toll In Public Domain, Resistance Uncalled For: Patna HC

Bihar revised its death toll from 5,424 to 9,375 earlier this month, adding 3,951 unreported fatalities.

Patna: The Patna High Court ruled on Friday that the Bihar government's refusal to release the state's Covid-19 death toll is unjustified. The observation was made by a division bench
comprised of Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice S Kumar while hearing a PIL filed by Shivani Kaushik and others regarding Covid management.

"For whatever reasons, the state government is most reluctant to put the Covid-19 death count in the public domain. In our considered view, the resistance is uncalled for, for such action is neither protected by any law nor is in consonance with settled principles of good governance," the court said.

It stated that transparency is the hallmark of good governance, especially in this day and age when both the Centre and the states are committed to the success of Digital India and the National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy (NDSAP), 2012.

The court said, "As simple as it can be, the issue is whether more than 10 crore people of Bihar have the right to know, on a digital platform, the number of deaths that occurred in the state during Covid-19 and whether the government has a corresponding duty to disclose either voluntarily or as mandated by law”.

Bihar revised its death toll from 5,424 to 9,375 earlier this month, adding 3,951 unreported fatalities. The court also ordered the state government to educate residents, particularly those in rural areas, about their right to access information online.