Cuttack, Sept. 9: Orissa High Court today reserved judgment on a PIL seeking compensation for people who lost their eyesight after undergoing operations at the cataract surgical camp held in Sub-Divisional Hospital, Dharamgarh, Kalahandi, in September 2010.

Advocate and human rights activist Prabir Kumar Das had filed a letter petition in the high court alleging that 16 persons had lost their eyesight because of doctors’ negligence and indifference of authorities at the cataract surgical camp. Compensation was sought for those who lost their eyesight.

Taking note of it on April 6, the high court had converted the letter petition into a PIL.

The two-judge bench of Chief Justice V. Gopala Gowda and Justice B.N. Mohapatra closed the hearing and reserved judgment after taking into consideration the findings of an inquiry conducted on the direction of the high court, and clarifications from both the state government and JMJ Grace Vision, Sambalpur, the NGO that conducted the eye camp.

The Orissa government had indicted JMJ Grace Vision, Sambalpur, of not adhering to government of India guidelines while conducting the cataract surgical camp. The court had directed the NGO to file within a week an affidavit giving details of the expenditure incurred by it in conducting the camp.

In an affidavit filed today, the NGO stated that it had incurred an expenditure of Rs 10.92 lakh.

While Rs 8.69 lakh had been spent on conducting the cataract surgical camp, the rest had been spent on follow-up treatment for the patients.