On Kota students, Patna High Court fixes May 5 as next hearing date

Initially, the central government had enforced the nationwide lockdown from March 25 for 21 days and then further extended it for another 19 days till May 3 to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak.

A two-member bench of Patna high court (HC) on Tuesday directed the Bihar government and the Centre to make adequate arrangements for the students stranded in Rajasthan’s Kota, the country’s coaching hub for medical and engineering aspirants, and elsewhere in the country amid the ongoing nationwide lockdown restrictions.

Police detaining members of Jan Adhikar Chhatra Parishad (JACP) during a demonstration demanding evacuation of students stuck the Rajasthan’s Kota due to the nationwid elockdown, at Patna University in Patna on April 28, 2020. (Parwaz Khan /HT PHOTO)

Initially, the central government had enforced the nationwide lockdown from March 25 for 21 days and then further extended it for another 19 days till May 3 to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak.

The HC said it would not be appropriate for the court to pass an order on the merit of the case without giving the opportunity to the central government to file a counter-affidavit and also when a similar writ is pending before the Supreme Court (SC).

While hearing four public interest litigations (PILs) on the matter via video-conferencing, the two-member bench of Patna HC --- comprising Justices Hemant Kumar Srivastava and Rajendra Kumar Mishra --- fixed May 5 as the next date of hearing.

Additional Solicitor General SD Sanjay, appearing on behalf of the central government, sought a week’s time from the court, citing that the Centre was in the process of preparing an elaborate protocol for interstate movement of migrant labourers back to their native places in line with the SC order.

“Once a protocol is in place, it’ll be filed in Patna HC,” he added.

On May 4 – the day the lockdown restrictions are slated to be lifted --- a writ petition filed by advocate Prashant Bhushan is scheduled to come up for a hearing before the apex court and the Centre has to file its response.

Earlier, Bhushan had filed the PIL, urging the apex court to direct the Centre to allow migrant labourers to return to their native places after undergoing Covid-19 tests and also ensure their safe passage.

Advocate General Lalit Kishor, appearing on behalf of Bihar government, reiterated the state’s stand in its earlier reply to the HC registrar-general.

The state government had stated that though it was sensitive to the plight of stranded students, it was not in favour of bringing them back amid the lockdown restrictions, as it would lead to the violation of the guidelines issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). It had also cited that such an action might lead to the risk of a further spread of SARS-CoV-2, which causes the disease, in the state.

The state government is worried about a sudden spike in Covid-19 positive cases, as the figure, which was 66 and confined to 12 of the 38 districts on April 14, rose to 359 till Tuesday afternoon. At present, the viral outbreak has been reported in 25 districts of the state. So far, two Covid-19 related deaths have been recorded in Bihar.

On Sunday, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar had said that as per the latest trend, which came to light because of the door-to-door screening mechanism, the infection is spreading after the arrival of migrant labourers from other states.

“Bihar is striving hard to break this chain of Covid-19 pandemic,” he had added.