'Court May Be Constrained To Take Up The Matter If No Effective Measures Are Announced': Madras High Court Asks State To Issue Covid Protocol Within 10 Days

"It is hoped that after recovering from the election fatigue by the end of the week, effective measures are put in place by the Government in course of the weekend to avoid further human misery and suffering," a Division Bench comprising of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy observed.

The remarks were made while hearing a petition pertaining to the measures taken both at the Central and at the State level, in the light of the diverse strains of the virus compendiously going by the name of Covid-19 being discovered.

During the hearing, the Bench observed that the second wave of the virus is raging all over the country and further lockdowns may be imminent, though in a less restricted form than those imposed in March and April, last year.

It averred that even the Courts have been forced to scale down regular functioning because of the increase in the number of cases and it is time that the State Government concentrates on how to contain the virus.

Though the Petitioner in this case had put forth certain suggestions to prevent the contagion, the Bench said that it would first grant an opportunity to the State to take effective measures, without any pressure from the Court.

"It is best that no immediate orders be issued at this stage so that the appropriate authorities can put their heads together and deal with the matter without being constrained by orders passed by Courts at this stage," it opined.

The Bench quickly cautioned, however, that if no effective measures are announced within the next week or ten days, the Court may be constrained to take up the matter.

The matter is fixed for consideration on April 22.

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The recent surge in Covid-19 cases has forced courts across the country to resort back to virtual hearings:

• With Covid-19 Cases Surging, Delhi High Court & All District Courts To Shift To Virtual Hearings Till Apr 23
• [Second Covid Wave] Madhya Pradesh High Court To Function Completely Through Virtual Mode At All Benches Till April 24
• "Only Special Benches Shall Hold Court Sitting Till April 9": Allahabad HC Issues 'Modalities & Arrangement' For Functioning of HC During COVID
• [Covid 19 Spike] Patna High Court Decides To Conduct Complete Functioning Of Court Exclusively Through Virtual Mode Till April 17
• Jammu & Kashmir High Court Decides To Suspend Physical Hearing In All Courts Till April 18
• Amid COVID Surge, Bombay High Court Returns To Virtual Hearing In Part

It has also led to demands of universal vaccination scheme, irrespective of the age and comorbidities and door to door vaccinations:

• [Covid 19 Vaccination] Plea In Delhi High Court Seeks Door To Door Vaccination, Removal Of Age Limitation
• What About Bed-Ridden People? Bombay High Seeks Response On PIL For Door-To-Door COVID-19 Vaccination Of Senior Citizens
• [Covid-19] Allahabad High Court Asks UP Govt To Consider Administering Vaccines To All Citizens Including Those Below 45 Yrs Of Age

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