Delhi HC Asks Delhi Govt To Remove Restrictions From A Containment Zone If There Are No Fresh Cases, Surveillance And Testing To Continue As Per Guidelines

The Single Bench of Justice Rekha Palli has also asked the Delhi Government to follow its protocol of testing and surveillance as per the guidelines and take appropriate action if any new case is reported.

The order has come in a writ petition filed by a resident of a society which was notified as containment zone to to de-seal the entire containment zone area of the said Society of the i.e. DG-3, Vikaspuri, New Delhi with immediate effect.

The Petitioner had submitted that the last known four positive cases of Covid-19 in the said society were detected on 11/13.05.2020. All these four persons were issued a certificate by the concerned Medical Officer that they stand discharged from home isolation from 29.05.2020.

The Petitioner further submitted that the Respondents have wrongly stated in their communication that there are seven positive cases of COVID 19 in the society whereas only four residents of the society were found to be COVID positive and they too stand fully recovered now.

In addition to this, the Petitioner contended that in spite of there being no active cases in the petitioner society for the last many days, the respondents are erroneously continuing to treat the entire society as a containment zone causing grave inconvenience to the residents.

Mr Anupam Srivastava, who appeared for the Delhi Government, submitted that the government acted strictly in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, which has, from time to time prescribed the containment plan.

Mr Srivastava further submitted that insofar as petitioner's grievance regarding there being only four cases as against seven cases of COVID positive patients as referred to in their communication by the respondents, a corrigendum has already been issued on 07.06.2020 clearly stating that there were only four positive cases of COVID-19 were detected in the society.

It was also submitted by Mr Srivastava that the restrictions will be duly scaled down and only surveillance and further testing as will be required, will be carried out w.e.f. 11.06.2020. As a consequence of the scaling down, the movement of the residents of the society will be as per the guidelines issued by the Government of India and the restrictions as applicable to containment zone will no longer be applicable to them.

While disposing of the petition the court asked the Delhi Government to abide by the stand taken by it before the court.

The court also clarified that in case in the future any positive case of Covid-19 is detected it will be open for the government to take appropriate action including once again declaring the society as a containment zone if the need so arises.