Telangana HC dresses down govt; mocks its way of dealing with Covid
The Bench said that the ground level situation was contrary to the submissions placed before it
Hyderabad: Once again, the High Court on Tuesday came down heavily on the Telangana government for showing complacency in dealing with the second wave surge of Covid 19.
The division bench comprising Chief Justice Hima Kohli and Justice B Vijaysen Reddy observed that the government itself had been causing damage to Telangana and its people. It rapped Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar for his infamous “situation under control” remarks at a recent press conference which it described as a tame campaign.
The Bench took notice of the highest executive authority in the State dismissing the need for lockdown immediately after the High Court suggested additional restrictions like weekend lockdowns to contain the spread. The Bench also hinted at initiating contempt against the “higher authorities” of the government for constantly ignoring the court directives on Covid testing and sharing the crucial data in public fora. The Court held the government’s underplaying of cases solely responsible for the short allocation of oxygen and other life-saving medicines by the Centre.
In a sarcastic way, the Chief Justice asked Advocate General B S Prasad where was the need to review the situation when everything was under control. “You cleverly bring down the infection rate by just lowering the testing. Now what made you to review the situation and opt for lockdown,” she said.
Maintaining that the government was not heeding to its suggestions, the court observed that the higher echelons of power were patting their back by presenting a hunky-dory situation with some cosmetic exercises. The state government has been attempting to portray a rosy picture in contrast to the ground realities, it said.
The Chief Justice told the AG that the court felt sorry about the government’s attitude and not acting strictly to contain the spread of the virus till the court insisted. “We are sailing in the same boat but discard every direction given by us,” the court said.
When senior counsel L Ravichander drew Bench’s attention to overcrowding at food joints and shops giving a go by to social distancing, the Chief Justice said the court was flooded with mails and reports with photographic evidence to establish non serious implementation of the night curfew. You impose curfew and make the shop close by 7 pm but allow them to carry out their business through the backdoor till midnight, Justice Kohli pointed out.