HC dismisses plea seeking court directions to control new Covid wave

The Delhi high court on Thursday refused to entertain a plea seeking directions to the Delhi government to initiate immediate measures for controlling and minimising the impact of the recent wave of the Covid-19 pandemic

The Delhi high court on Thursday refused to entertain a plea seeking directions to the Delhi government to initiate immediate measures for controlling and minimising the impact of the recent wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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On Thursday, Delhi reported 7,437 fresh Covid-19 cases and 24 deaths. The city currently has 23,181 cases and a positivity rate -- the proportion of samples that return positive among the total tested -- of 4.57%.

A bench of justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli said the government has been doing everything to control the impact of the viral infection and it was not inclined to entertain the plea.

“Everything is being done by the government, from maintaining mask and social distancing guidelines, and people are getting vaccinated... The prayers stated herein are all general prayers, what else do you want the government to do?” the court said.

The court said the prayers by petitioner lawyer Rakesh Malhotra are vague and gave him the liberty to file another application with specific prayers and suggestions.

The application was filed in a disposed of petition which had sought to increase the Covid-19 testing capacity in the national capital and get speedy results. The court, while hearing that plea, had passed various orders on the management and containment of Covid-19 in Delhi and had also continuously monitored the pandemic situation.

In his plea, Malhotra stated that courts have resumed in-person functioning from March 15 and jail inmates, who are brought to courts for cases, meet their relatives on the court premises and there is a likelihood of a Covid-19 spread, both within and outside the jail. He urged the court to direct that such inmates be asked to appear for hearings through video conferencing.

He also said local markets, shopping malls, restaurants and cafes are seeing a huge rush and many visitors are not following social distancing norms now wearing masks properly. Malhotra sought appropriate directions from the court so that such carelessness may be avoided.