The Supreme Court on Monday (24 June) issued notices to the Centre and the Bihar government in connection with a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking immediate measures against the deaths of children suffering from suspected acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) in Muzaffarpur of Bihar, reports Livemint.

A vacation bench of the apex court comprising of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and BR Gavai sought responses from the state government and the Centre within seven days. The bench also sought a response from Uttar Pradesh government regarding the death of children from the same disease last year.

'This is a serious concern. Deaths cannot keep happening. We need answers', the court observed.

The bench also directed the Bihar government to file an affidavit on the adequacy of medical facilities, nutrition, sanitation and hygiene condition in the state.

The petition filed by advocates Manohar Pratap and Sanpreet Singh Ajmani alleged that there was a complete failure of the state machinery in dealing with the outbreak of the disease.

“Media reports shows that there is acute shortage of doctors, medical facilities, intensive care units and other medical equipment in the Hospitals in nearby areas and child are dying in hospitals due to lack of required facilities,” said the petition.