Why Can’t Vaccinated People Travel By Mumbai Local: HC To Maha Govt
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday asked the Maharashtra government that why people who had received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine couldn’t be allowed on Mumbai local trains, Live Law reported.
The court was hearing two PILs filed by the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa, seeking permission for lawyers to travel to courts and offices in Mumbai by suburban trains. At present, only health workers and government employees can use local trains.
“What is the use of the vaccine?” Chief Justice Dipankar Dutta asked Maharashtra Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni. “After getting the vaccine people should not sit at home, they should work and earn their livelihood. The courts have started functioning. Courts have begun functioning. Lawyers will have to come to court.”
The Chief Justice said: “If you compare, the situation between last year and this year is very different … in the sense that we have just been vaccinated. It must be a load on the minds of the officials.”
The Advocate General of Maharashtra informed the court that he held a meeting with the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa and Railway officials to work out a tentative procedure for lawyers to use local trains.
According to LiveLaw, Kumbhakoni said, “The lawyers will approach the concerned Bar Association or Bar Council, submit the vaccination certificate.” “The association will certify [if] they are fit to travel by following the COVID protocols. Then one month or three monthly passes will be issued, not daily tickets.”
The court asked Kumbhakoni whether the government had a comprehensive plan to start the journey through local trains. The lawyer said that no such plan has been prepared so far.
“It is imperative to work on such a plan because otherwise this suspended position and uncertainty is affecting everybody,” Justice GS Kulkarni said. “And some to such an extent burden on finances, roads. A one-way journey is three hours. Why can’t the population travelling by road not take trains?”
The court said it was not just concerned about lawyers but other citizens too. “Spread the net wide,” the chief justice said, according to Live Law. “Not only for lawyers but people coming from other walks of life.” The court will hear the matter next Thursday.
Maharashtra has been recording lower daily Covid-19 cases over the last couple of weeks. On Sunday, the state registered 6,479 infections and 157 deaths.
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