A division bench, comprising Justices Y.K. Sabharwal and K.S. Gupta, asked the government to file an affidavit on the matter.

The bench also asked the government to state what steps it had taken to prevent the repetition of such incidents in future.

Advocate Arvind Nigam, appearing for the government, said the Central Bureau of Investigation was probing the matter and all queries could be answered only after it submitted its findings.

Nigam replied in the negative when asked if any effort had been made to find why there had been a outbreak of the disease in Delhi in the first place. Petitioner B.L. Wadehra blamed the government for not acting in a proper manner before and after the tragedy. Wadehra's PIL had sought a CBI inquiry into the matter and the arrest of all those who were responsible for the oil contamination.