PIL challenges quarantine of 1,408 people in Nagpur by civic body

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court has directed the state and Nagpur civic authorities to respond to a plea challenging the shifting of 1,408 persons, which

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court has directed the state and Nagpur civic authorities to respond to a plea challenging the shifting of 1,408 persons, which include women and children from Covid-19 hotspots, to an institutional quarantine. The plea has alleged that though the authorities have taken a precautionary measure, the detention is illegal as the place, where these persons are quarantined, are crowded, and there is a possibility of causing infection to other persons residing near these two places.

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On Sunday, a single bench of justice Anil Kilor took up the urgent hearing of public interest litigation (PIL) filed by local resident Mohammad Nishat through advocate Tushar Mandlekar. The PIL alleged non-compliance of Covid-19 guidelines by the civic body and that people were being randomly picked up by the authorities and were being quarantined. The plea further said that 1,408 persons from Satranjipura and Mominpura areas were illegally detained by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) on the grounds that they were high-risk contacts as they had come in touch with those who tested positive for Covid-19.

The action was prompted after a 68-year-old man who tested positive died in Satranjipura. The man had come in contact with a person who had returned from the Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi. The number of Covid positive cases had started increasing thereafter and hence the NMC decided to take such drastic precautionary measures.

Mandlekar submitted that in doing so the authorities violated protocols and guidelines issued by the Central Government and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) which stipulated that only persons who are Covid-positive and their contacts could be detained and quarantined for 14 days. However, as the NMC was randomly quarantining people it amounted to an infringement of the fundamental rights of freedom of expression and right to life with dignity of these people.

On its part, the NMC counsel Sudhir Puranik submitted a response of Dr Pravin Gantawar from the NMC health department which stated that the civic body was strictly following COVID-19 guidelines and all quarantined persons were from the ‘high-risk contact category’ and proper precautions were being taken before putting people in quarantine. Puranik sought further two days to file a reply which was allowed and the matter has been posted for hearing on May 5.