Recently, the Punjab and Haryana High Court got shocked regarding a 13-minute power outage at a hospital in Patiala district, Punjab.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sumeet Goel was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) concerning a viral video that captured a power outage during a surgery in the emergency ward of Rajendra Hospital, Patiala, in January this year.

"It is not surprising but shocking to note that in a public establishment like a hospital where an electric breakup of even a few seconds can be fatal for certain patients, especially those on life support, the electric supply was disrupted for 13 minutes, though the backup was available, but the same took 2 minutes to be functional because the same had to be operated manually," the Court said.

In response to the PIL, the Court had previously inquired whether the hospital had a backup power supply. 

On January 6, it was informed that while a backup system exists, there is no automatic switch-over mechanism. The DG set had to be started manually, causing a delay, as stated in a report submitted to the Court. 

Taking note of this, the Court emphasized the necessity of an automatic switch-over system for hospitals to seamlessly transition from the main power supply to the DG set. It also questioned the absence of such a system and highlighted another instance of a power outage at the same hospital.