HC declines to hear PIL seeking direction to Centre, Delhi govt regarding COVID-19 preparation
Jan 31, 2022
New Delhi [India], January 31 : The Delhi High Court on Monday declined to hear a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking direction to the Centre, Delhi Government and others to submit the plan for the distribution of essential supplies and services during the upcoming third wave of COVID-19.
The plea also sought direction to submit the plan for availability and distribution of oxygen during the "upcoming third wave which is expected in the next 10 days".
The bench of Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Jasmeet Singh on Monday showed their displeasure on the petitioner and said the present situation of pandemics is getting better in Delhi. "We are dealing with a declining number of cases now, hospital beds are vacant and you are filing this frivolous petition now."
After the court's dismay on the issue, the petitioner through Advocate Rudra Vikram Singh withdrew the petition.
The plea further sought the direction to the Election commission of India to postpone the election for a few months/weeks in all five states. It also sought direction to Delhi Government to issue a direction for 14 days or less quarantine for the people returning from the states where the election is commenced i.e. Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Manipur, Uttarakhand and Goa.
Petitioner Jagdish Sharma, a Congress leader stated that since the last few days Omicron is spreading among the citizen very fast and poses a grave threat of deadly infection among the population of the country.
"In the last two years, the country has faced two variants of COVID-19 and to date, the country has lost 4,84,213 lives due to COVID-19 as per government record, plea states.
The plea further stated that since the last few days the cases of COVID are increasing exponentially and as per the health experts the states like Maharashtra and NCT of Delhi could see the peak of cases in the coming days.
The Head of the World Health Organisation has already warned all the countries that Omicron is more transmissible and more resistant to treatment than other variants. Dr Tedors of WHO warned that while Omicron does appear to be less severe compared to Delta, especially in those vaccinated, it does not mean it should be categorised as 'mild'," the plea read.
