Ban on local train travel for unvaccinated is in public interest Maha govt tells HC
Mumbai Jan 20 PTI The prohibition on travel by local trains in Mumbai by those who are not fully vaccinated against coronavirus is legal and reasonable the Maharashtra government told the Bombay High Court on ThursdaySenior advocate Anil Anturkar the governments lawyer said though such a restriction encroaches on the fundamental right to move freely under Article 19 1d of the Constitution it is reasonable in view of the pandemicThis is a reasonable restriction imposed on the citizens fundamental right and such prohibition has been imposed in the larger public interest for their own benefit he saidHe was arguing before a bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice M S Karnik during the final hearing on Public Interest Litigations challenging the ban on travel by local trains by those who have not taken both the doses of vaccineThe notification requiring vaccination certificate for local train travel was issued in August 2021Petitioners counsels Neelesh Ojha and Tanveer Nizam had argued that the notification was illegal arbitrary and violated the right to equality and free movementAdvocate Anturkar said this was a precautionary step taken in the light of the earlier experienceMaharashtra suffered terribly during the first wave of the pandemic due to dearth of medical oxygen Therefore we want to be very cautious this time and take all possible precautions to minimize spread of cases he saidWhile vaccination may not guarantee full immunity it is a step to avoid hospitalization and death and the restrictions on train travel have been imposed to avoid extreme eventualities the government counsel addedThe petitioners had also contended that the Union governments national plan to tackle the pandemic precluded any kind of discrimination including that between the vaccinated and the unvaccinatedAnturkar denied that the restriction on train travel amounted to discriminationIs there a national plan under the Disaster Management Act to tackle Covid and does it prohibit state governments from discriminating between the vaccinated and unvaccinated when it comes to access to public utilities he further askedThe HC asked the Union governments lawyer to clarify the position on this point and adjourned the hearing to Friday PTI AYA KRK KRK KRK
Mumbai Jan 20 PTI The prohibition on travel by local trains in Mumbai by those who are not fully vaccinated against coronavirus is legal and reasonable the Maharashtra government told the Bombay High Court on ThursdaySenior advocate Anil Anturkar the governments lawyer said though such a restriction encroaches on the fundamental right to move freely under Article 19 1d of the Constitution it is reasonable in view of the pandemicThis is a reasonable restriction imposed on the citizens fundamental right and such prohibition has been imposed in the larger public interest for their own benefit he saidHe was arguing before a bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice M S Karnik during the final hearing on Public Interest Litigations challenging the ban on travel by local trains by those who have not taken both the doses of vaccineThe notification requiring vaccination certificate for local train travel was issued in August 2021Petitioners counsels Neelesh Ojha and Tanveer Nizam had argued that the notification was illegal arbitrary and violated the right to equality and free movementAdvocate Anturkar said this was a precautionary step taken in the light of the earlier experienceMaharashtra suffered terribly during the first wave of the pandemic due to dearth of medical oxygen Therefore we want to be very cautious this time and take all possible precautions to minimize spread of cases he saidWhile vaccination may not guarantee full immunity it is a step to avoid hospitalization and death and the restrictions on train travel have been imposed to avoid extreme eventualities the government counsel addedThe petitioners had also contended that the Union governments national plan to tackle the pandemic precluded any kind of discrimination including that between the vaccinated and the unvaccinatedAnturkar denied that the restriction on train travel amounted to discriminationIs there a national plan under the Disaster Management Act to tackle Covid and does it prohibit state governments from discriminating between the vaccinated and unvaccinated when it comes to access to public utilities he further askedThe HC asked the Union governments lawyer to clarify the position on this point and adjourned the hearing to Friday PTI AYA KRK KRK KRK
