On Tuesday, February 22, the Bombay High Court stated that the Maharashtra government's order permitting only those fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to travel by the local trains was "illegal" and affected the citizen's fundamental rights, reported the news agency, PTI.
Based on the account, a division bench remarked that three orders signed by the then chief secretary of the government, Sitaram Kunte were in contrast to the prescribed procedure in the Disaster Management Rules. The HC reportedly stated the orders passed by the former chief secretary were in a diversion of the prescribed procedure.
Adding that owing to the illegal orders, the citizens' fundamental rights were affected. On Tuesday, the government's counsel told the court that the three orders in question stand withdrawn.
The counsel reportedly added that the state executive committee will be conducting a meeting on Friday, February 25 after which fresh directives will be made. Adding that either the prohibition will be withdrawn or restrictions will be made in accordance with the current COVID-19 condition.
The bench responded to this by highlighting the fact that the number of coronavirus cases in Mumbai reported on Monday, February 21, was the lowest in 20 months. On Monday, the city reported 96 new cases of the novel virus.
The HC noted that the earlier orders breached the rules of the state disaster management since they were made in Kunte's individual capacity without deliberations with other members. Earlier on Monday, the bench had asked the government if it will withdraw the three circulars because it wasn't passed while adhering to the accurate procedure.
The court has been hearing many public interest litigations (PIL) that are challenging the prohibition on the use of local trains in Mumbai by those unvaccinated.
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