Gujarat to urge HC to lower mask fine to Rs 500

Gandhinagar: The Gujarat government has announced that it will urge the high court to allow reduction in fine for not wearing mask in public places, from the present Rs 1,000 to Rs 500. It was on the suggestion by the court last year, that the Gujarat government had raised the fine from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000.

The Gujarat High Court in its order last year, when the first wave of the pandemic was at its peak, had ordered the government to collect a minimum fine of Rs 1,000 from those found without masks in public places, following which, the government had raised the fine to the present level.

In August 2020, due to the rising number of coronavirus cases in the state, the high court had observed that "masks are logically the best defence individuals have against Covid-19".

Now, as the number of coronavirus cases is on the decline again, after the second wave of Covid-19 receded, the state government feels that the present fine of Rs 1,000 should be halved.

Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani on Monday instructed the legal authorities to prepare for a request to the high court to allow it to lower the fine to Rs 500.