SC raps Gujarat, asks Delhi to tighten belt

Dhananjay.Mahapatra

New Delhi: Worried over possible worsening of the Covid-19 situation after the festive season and onset of winter, the Supreme Court on Monday asked all states to submit action plans in two days to ensure the pandemic does not spin out of hand and came down heavily on Gujarat for its illogical restrictions and told the Delhi government to tighten its belt.

A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, R S Reddy and M R Shah minced no words in telling Gujarat the flaws in its plans to arrest a surge. “The situation is alarming... What is the logic behind banning marriage celebrations between 9 pm and 6 am when celebrations can be held in the daytime? How are the authorities sure that congregations in the day will not result in spreading the disease? You explain the logic behind this decision,” the bench said. It also rapped the state for allowing politicians to take out political rallies and processions. “What is happening? The state is facing the worst situation. The state must file an affidavit explaining the logic behind these decisions. It also must file a status report about steps being taken and would be taken to bring the situation under control,” Justice Shah said.

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta said the Delhi government would have to answer a lot of questions about managing the situation in the national Capital as the home minister had to intervene to give impetus to steps being taken, including augmentation of infrastructure, to fight a spike in cases. He urged the court to direct states to file their action plans by Monday evening for the court to take up hearing on Tuesday.

Appearing for Delhi, additional solicitor general Sanjay Jain said the state government has now reserved 80% of ICU beds in all 115 private hospitals of Delhi for Covid-19 patients as many people from the NCR were coming to the Capital for better treatment.

The SC said, “The situation has worsened in Delhi in the last two weeks and it is for Delhi government to augment infrastructure and facilities for patient care. Immediate steps are required to be taken by all the states as well as by the Centre.Let the status reports be filed within two days and the matter be listed on November 27 for consideration and passing appropriate orders.”