Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a PIL seeking an independent inquiry into alleged mismanagement of COVID-19 pandemic in the country. The PIL was filed on August 12, 2020, by six people, including some former bureaucrats through advocate Prashant Bhushan on the ground that it was essential to inquire into the “lapses”.
Accusing the Centre of failing to undertake timely and effective measures to check transmission of COVID-19, the PIL demanded an independent inquiry by a commission headed by former judges of the top court, appointed under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952.
The Central Government’s response to the pandemic and its “deleterious impact” on the lives and livelihoods of the citizens is a “definite matter of public importance and warrants appointment of a commission” under section 3 of the Act, the PIL read.
The nationwide lockdown and the method in which it was implemented has had a “devastating impact” on jobs, livelihood and the overall economy, the PIL alleged, coining it as “arbitrary, irrational and without due consultation with experts or state governments”.
“In spite of being the harshest and most restrictive lockdown in the world, it has failed to arrest the spread of the disease,” the PIL stated.
Referring to the “exodus” of migrant workers during the lockdown from cities to their hometowns, it alleged that the authorities had failed to constitute a national plan and issue proper guidelines for providing relief to the vulnerable sections of the society under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. There had been a delay in ensuring adequate supplies of PPE during the pandemic, it submitted.
SC rejects PIL seeking independent inquiry into alleged mismanagement of COVID-19 pandemic in the country
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 1, 2020
