COVID-19 Oxygen Scam Case: BMC Commissioner Refuses Sanction To Prosecute Officials

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on Tuesday informed the Bombay High Court that its municipal commissioner had declined to approve prosecution against civic officials named in a First Information Report alleging irregularities in oxygen supply during the Covid-19 pandemic in civic-run hospitals.

A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale was presented with an internal communication submitted by BMC counsel Joel Carlos, written by the commissioner to the Joint Commissioner of Police, Economic Offences Wing (EOW).

Citing the letter, the judges noted: “From the said letter, it appears that the commissioner refused sanction for want of adequate evidence/material against the petitioners.”

Petition Seeks Quashing of FIR

The court was hearing a petition filed by the Municipal Engineers Association, which sought to quash an FIR registered on November 22, 2023, by the Nagpada police. The complaint pertains to the installation of oxygen generation plants during the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the petition, the Covid-19 emergency spanned from March 11, 2020, to May 5, 2022, during which 16 oxygen generation plants were installed across nine BMC hospitals. The Association contended that the engineers only proposed the projects and that higher authorities approved them in good faith. The FIR and subsequent summons to several engineers, the petition argued, have created “a chilling effect.”

EOW Sought Sanction Only in Oxygen FIR

Advocate Carlos also informed the court that the EOW has registered four separate FIRs, involving the supply of khichdi, body bags, and Remdesivir injections. However, he clarified that sanction for prosecution was sought only in the oxygen supply FIR.

Additional Public Prosecutor Prajakta Shinde said a chargesheet had already been filed against other accused individuals in the case. She confirmed that the EOW had requested sanction to proceed against the BMC officials.

In response, the judges inquired what the EOW now intended to do, given that the necessary sanction had been denied by the civic chief.

Interim Relief Extended, Case Moved to Appropriate Bench

Senior Advocate Anil Anturkar, representing the Municipal Engineers Association, emphasized that their petition concerned only the issue of sanction in the oxygen FIR. The bench clarified that it could not quash the FIR as the matter was not assigned to them.

The judges permitted the petitioners to amend their plea and directed the High Court registry to place the case before the appropriate bench as per the court’s internal roster. In the meantime, they extended the interim relief protecting the petitioners from coercive action for a further two weeks.