Lockdown: PIL accuses Centre of taking insufficient measures; seeks SC intervention

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 27

Accusing the government of taking insufficient measures to deal with the situation arising out of unprecedented 21-day nationwide lockdown declared by the Centre to prevent spread of coronavirus, a PIL has sought the Supreme Court’s immediate intervention to tackle the crisis.

“Because the respondents (Centre and RBI) have remained ignorant of the situation which has in its eventuality led to the nation standstill in all respects and have made the general public lose faith which is also of pertinent importance to be immediately restored for the pandemic to be curtailed effectively,” the petition filed by  Sumit Mehta and Vikrant Narulla alleged.

This is the second petition seeking the top court’s intervention to deal with the situation arising out of the unprecedented 21-day nationwide lockdown declared by the Centre to prevent spread of Corona virus that has claimed thousands of lives across the globe.

Earlier, a PIL on Friday sought the Supreme Court’s intervention to alleviate the plight of thousands of migrant workers walking back home from various cities across India after the announcement of lockdown.

Filed by advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava, the PIL urged the top court to intervene the ground that despite sincere efforts on the part of the Central and state governments, a large number of stranded migrant workers were headed to their native villages on foot hundreds of kilometres away as they were unable to avail the benefits of government schemes.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde is likely to take up Srivastava’s PIL on Monday.

Alleging that citizens from various backgrounds, including those from middle-class, small shop owners, MSME owners and corporates were facing the wrath of the lockdown without any relief from the Government, the second PIL urged the court to direct the government to make basic necessities and medical facilities available to all citizens, irrespective of their financial status.

It said mobile vendors must be deployed for each residential area for purposes of delivery of essential items and public gardens and stadiums must be converted into places for food and shelter.

The petitioners demanded that Rs 10,000 should be transferred to all Income Tax Groups as a “short-term loan” recoverable in the next Financial Year and no person shall be terminated from their jobs.

The PIL also sought mandatory access to medical equipment to every person working at the frontline, regardless of their profile or rank;

“Waive off all kinds of penalty on the filing of GST or Income Tax returns or Advance tax returns,” it said.