Shivani Pandey-
Published on August 06, 2021 at 11:40 AM
A Bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice GS Kulkarni while hearing a couple of Petitions filed by lawyers and private individuals seeking directions to the Central and State Governments to allow lawyers, registered clerks, and persons who have been vaccinated with two doses of COVID vaccine to travel by local suburban trains.
It was brought to the attention of the High Court that a decision has been taken to allow lawyers to travel by train, although no decision had been taken yet for the general public.
“Please do not compare Mumbai with Nagpur, Nashik, etc. This is a city with special needs. This is a city with a large population. Traveling for people is very important as poor people cannot spend so much to travel. It is a matter of people’s livelihood. If that is the approach then everything is fine. Consider the complexities involved. Allowing some and not allowing others? What is the logic,” the Court stated.
Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni mentioned that “even if we take into account the number of citizens who are vaccinated and those who have been exposed to the virus, there is still at least one-third of our population that is unexposed.”
Advocate Kirpekar in response stated that “70 lakhs are traveling. To wait for the entire population will take time. We have to start someday, we have to take baby steps, and what better way than after taking vaccinations. If local trains are opened, it is this susceptible population that will be fast infected.”
In an earlier hearing, Chief Justice Datta had stated that the only purpose of getting vaccinated is to ensure that people can resume their normal livelihood.
Also Read: Maharashtra Govt informs Bombay HC that door-to-door vaccination will start from 1st August