The Supreme Court declined to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) on Monday seeking directions to the Centre to set up an international task force of experts to find out the origin of the second wave of Covid-19 virus which led to a large number of deaths and hospitalisation in the country.
The bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud asked the petitioner to approach the Centre and said that it cannot enter into conspiracy theories. Justice Chndrachud said that everyone is focusing on managing the pandemic in India and trying to not ‘delve into conspiracy theories.’
“We will rather focus on managing the pandemic in our country than delving into conspiracy theories involving other nations, on which we don't even have a jurisdiction,” Justice Chandrachud said according to a report by news agency ANI.
The petition was filed by Mumbai-based Pankaj Phadnis, a researcher and a trustee of Abhinav Bharat Congress, who later withdrew it.
“We have no jurisdiction over Chinese or American citizens. The government is there to hear you. Plea dismissed as withdrawn,” the Supreme Court said.
The plea also sought direction to the Union of India to keep track of any further mutation so that it is not caught unaware if cases surge. “A recent report co-authored by the former chief economic advisor to the government of India confirms the existence of a war-like situation by suggesting that as many 3.9 million Indians have been killed in the last three months by the second wave of the pandemic. The monumental tragedy is not yet over,” the plea, accessed by ANI, said.
{{/usCountry}}The plea also sought direction to the Union of India to keep track of any further mutation so that it is not caught unaware if cases surge. “A recent report co-authored by the former chief economic advisor to the government of India confirms the existence of a war-like situation by suggesting that as many 3.9 million Indians have been killed in the last three months by the second wave of the pandemic. The monumental tragedy is not yet over,” the plea, accessed by ANI, said.
{{/usCountry}}The plea said that the international task force should also include Chinese nationals and added that the origins of the ‘Wuhan’ virus needs to be known as well as the Delta variant.
The plea claimed that the Delta variant of Covid-19 is ‘bringing opprobrium upon India in the eyes of the world’.