Cuttack, April 24: Orissa High Court has refused to take an affidavit filed by the Odisha government for failing to answer its queries on improving facilities to treat unidentified persons at SCB Hospital.

The government was supposed to inform the court of the steps it took on the suggestions of the collector and district magistrate of Cuttack on the death of an Italian tourist at SCB Medical College and Hospital in December last year.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation seeking direction to the Odisha government to provide treatment to destitute and abandoned persons and unidentified accident victims at SCB. The PIL alleged that medical negligence had led to the death of the Italian tourist.

Kulamani Mishra, deputy secretary of Odisha health and family welfare department, filed the affidavit on behalf of the state government.

“The division bench of Justice Indrajit Mohanty and Justice B.N. Mohapatra refused to take on record the affidavit as it had no information about steps taken for formation of a separate ward for treatment of unidentified patients. The affidavit also had no information about an isolation ward,” petitioner counsel Prabir Kumar Das told The Telegraph today.

“The bench issued a fresh direction to the secretary of the health department to file an affidavit by April 30 and fixed May 1 for the next hearing,” said Das.