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Same Covid guidelines not applicable on entire state: Himachal high court
The division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ravi Malimath and Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua directed to constitute a district monitoring committee in the state
Observing that same set of guidelines cannot be applied for the entire state due to variance of corona-related issues in different districts, the high court of Himachal Pradesh on Friday directed to constitute a district monitoring committee in the state.
The division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ravi Malimath and Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua passed these orders on a petition taken up suo motu by the court as public interest litigation and another writ petition highlighting the inadequate facilities in the state for the treatment of Covid patients.
The court directed that the committee will consist of the deputy commissioner of each district, secretary of the district legal services authority and president of the bar association at the district headquarter.
In case, the president of the district bar association is a senior citizen and not willing to participate in the committee, he may nominate another person on his behalf, to do so, said the court.
The DC will be the chairperson of the committee.
The HC directed that the panel will visit the towns, cities and villages in the respective districts to ascertain the Covid situation and whether the assistance from the government is adequate to meet the challenges thereon.
The court said that the committee will also ascertain as to what is required to be done to contain the virus spread and to ensure preparedness for the third wave.
The committee will also visit the primary health care centres, the areas where the medical facilities are provided and it may seek the assistance of any other person in the performance of their duties and all the activities of the committee will be in tune with the prevalent SOPs and guidelines regarding Covid, the HC directed.
The panel will submit a weekly report to the registry of the court on or before the Tuesday of every week by e-mail and the bench would interact with the committee on July 14 through videoconferencing.
The court directed that the committee’s first meeting will be held on July 10 and it may meet as many times as required.
During the course of hearing, the advocate general apprised the court of the efforts made by the state in order to control the spread of Covid-19.
The court observed that it is aware of the work done by the state, but more is required to be done as the issues pertaining to each district vary and there cannot be a same set of guidelines for the entire state and thus a local monitoring committee would be more useful in such circumstances.
The court directed that the related matters will be taken up by the court every Wednesday at 2pm to consider the reports that would be filed on Tuesday.
The case will be next heard on July 14.
