The unpreparedness of both the Union as well as Maharashtra government and the lack of proper balance in their relations have led to the increase in Covid-19 cases in the state, the Bombay High Court said on Friday. The court also said that it is the obligation of the government to bring the nation back on track as the pandemic has made a huge impact on our economy.
A bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta said, "The situation in Maharashtra in general and Mumbai, in particular, did not present a very different picture from the rest of the nation. Maharashtra has the dubious distinction of being perched at the top of the list of affected states, accounting for nearly 34% of the total active cases. The projections for June and July are also quite scary and this has been the situation despite the lockdown and introduction of social distancing norms."
The bench while taking note of the various media reports, cited in the petition, said there have been many factors which have been responsible for the spread of the pandemic in India.
"Some of them are the lack of vision to deal with COVID-19 when reports started pouring in of the merciless attack of the virus on several foreign nations, lack of preparedness to tackle a problem of such magnitude, which included an initial lack of sufficient testing kits as well as protective gear all over the country, lack of proper balance in Union and state relations, lack of awareness of a large section of the Indian citizenry as to what COVID-19 is capable of, etc," the bench said while referring to media reports.
"It is indeed unfortunate that we have by now lost a number of fellow citizens to COVID-19; however, it is not the time now to look back and grieve. The negative concept of lockdown 1 and 2 and the like have to be regarded as things of the past and the nation has to look up and proceed with a positive outlook of 'Unlock 1' and 'Mission Begin Again' which are the slogans of the Union and Maharashtra governments respectively," the judges added.
Impact on Economy:
The bench in its judgment said that the pandemic has impacted everyone equally and has destabilised the economy.
"The pandemic and the resultant lockdown have destabilised the Indian economy, while wrecking the 'haves' and the 'have-nots' alike. It has shown how pitiable the conditions of migrant workers in India are. As things stand now, India can hardly think of a fair and just society any time in the near future," CJ Datta observed.
"No doubt, it is the primary duty of the executive to put the nation back on track and the citizenry must repose faith in it. The situation that the nation is now faced with i.e., of fighting an invisible enemy, is no doubt unprecedented and tops the list of worst of situations," the bench added.
The bench further said that efforts at all levels have to be made to boost the health and medicare facilities and to find a solution to bring the nation out of the impasse as well.
"Instead of a judicial management of COVID-19, there has to be a nuanced administrative and scientific management hitherto unseen. Although the COVID situation in Maharashtra is quite alarming but in the present circumstances, the need of the hour is to push forward the efforts undertaken by both the governments in fighting COVID-19 in the right direction," the judges said.
