A Mumbai-based chartered accountant has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Bombay High Court seeking directions to the Maharashtra government to relax all travel-related restrictions for citizens who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
The petitioner, Mohan Bhide, said that allowing vaccinated people to travel unhindered on local trains and other modes of public transport between various districts of the state would help them to lead their normal lives.
His PIL stated that it will, among other things, allow citizens to conduct regular business during regular hours in compliance with Covid protocol. He noted that business and other regular affairs had been curtailed since March 2020 due to the pandemic. Allowing fully vaccinated people to use public transport will enable faster recovery of the economy, he said.
The plea also stated that the proposed relaxation may also motivate more citizens to take the vaccine, hence reducing the risk of a potential third wave.
15 DAYS AFTER SECOND DOSE
The PIL, filed through advocates Neelaja Kirpekar and Shekhar Bhagat, specified that people who possess vaccination certificates should be allowed to travel via public transport fifteen days after taking their second dose of the Covid vaccine.
For this clause, it relied on the state government’s order dated July 15. According to this order, people from outside Maharashtra are permitted to enter the state without a negative RT-PCR test report if they have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 at least 15 days prior to their travel.
The petitioner claimed that about 30 per cent of Maharashtra’s total population had received one dose of the vaccine and a fairly large section was fully vaccinated already.
PIL TO BE HEARD SOON
The Bombay High Court is already hearing a plea seeking permission for lawyers to travel in the local trains so that court hearings can be conducted physically instead of virtually. It is likely that Bhide’s petition will be heard in the coming days along with the lawyers’ petition.
At present, the local trains in Maharashtra’s capital city Mumbai are restricted for use only by emergency and essential services staff, on account of the pandemic.
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Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/law/story/pil-bombay-high-court-permission-fully-vaccinated-travel-local-trains-1831005-2021-07-22
