LUCKNOW, Dec. 14 -- The director-general, medical health, Uttar Pradesh, has filed a counter affidavit before the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court giving details of ventilators in government hospitals in the state capital. The court directed the petitioner that he may file his response to the counter affidavit, if any. In October, the court had sought details of the ventilators required in all government medical universities and hospitals in Lucknow. The court directed to list the matter in the third week of January 2026 for further hearing. The order was passed by a division bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Indrajeet Shukla on December 8 in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by 'We the people', an NGO, in 2016, through its general secretary Prince Lenin, seeking to know ventilators required in all government hospitals and universities in Lucknow. The petitioner said in the counter affidavit, only the number of the ventilators available in the government hospitals had been given. A response to it would be filed, he added. "Let RMLIMS, through the director general of Medical Health, be impleaded as the opposite party in this PIL by the Office and a notice be served upon its standing counsel," the court had directed. ".A need-based assessment is required to be made by the said institutions, and the result thereof should be brought on record, which will enable us to ascertain as to whether the number of ventilators available are sufficient and adequate for providing medical assistance to patients," the court observed....