Will cause "total collapse of system," Centre moves Supreme Court against Karnataka HC order calling for increase in oxygen allocation to State

The Central government has moved Supreme Court challenging the Karnataka High Court order of May 5 directing it to immediately increase the allocation of liquid medical oxygen (LMO) to the State to 1,200 metric tonne (MT) per day amid the COVID-19 crisis..Solicitor General Tushar Mehta mentioned the appeal before a Bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah today after Chief Justice of India NV Ramana asked the law officer to mention the case before that Bench..However, the Bench stated that it would peruse the case files and order the Registry to list the matter thereafter..The Centre submitted that the High Court failed to consider the rationale behind allocation of certain amounts of oxygen to each State. "...purely on the basis of purported shortage in the city of Bangalore, passed directions which, if fulfilled, will have a cascading effect and result in the total collapse of the system in its fight against the ongoing second wave of COVID-19 Coronavirus," the petition said. .The plea stated that the High Court order "would ultimately lead to mismanagement of resources and create a further chaotic environment in an already overburdened system"..The Centre further submitted that issues which transcend the boundaries of the particular State, especially issues wherein one or more States would be competing for the limited resources during the time of the pandemic, or issues which require any special treatment to a particular State "which would be at the expense of other States would necessarily have to be examined by the Supreme Court as it essentially requires a comprehensive national approach.".On May 5, a Division Bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Aravind Kumar of the High Court had noted that the required quantity of oxygen was not being allotted by the Centre to the State amid the COVID-19 crisis..Referring to an incident at a COVID-19 facility in Chamarajanagar district where 24 people died due to shortage of oxygen, the High Court had said,"Perhaps, if buffer stock of oxygen was there, the Chamarajanagar incident would not have happened.".The Bench went on to note that the Government of India has offered no explanation as to why buffer stock (of oxygen) is not there in Karnataka despite the Supreme Court's directions..Ultimately, the High Court went on to direct the Central government to increase the allocation of oxygen to Karnataka..Buffer oxygen stock might have averted Chamarajanagar tragedy: Karnataka High Court.[Read Karnataka High Court order]