Plea in High Court seeks reimposition of lockdown in Delhi

A plea before the Delhi high court on Thursday sought directions to the Delhi government to again impose a strict lockdown in the national capital in view of the rising number of Covid-19 cases. The matter is likely to be heard on Friday.

The public interest litigation (PIL), filed by advocate Anirban Mondal and his employee Pawan Kumar, said the Delhi government itself has admitted that there would be around one lakh Covid-19 cases in the city by June-end and the number would rise to around 2.25 lakh by mid-July and over 5.5 lakh by July-end.

Mondal’s plea also contended that given the situation, the government should consider imposing a strict lockdown in the city. The petition, filed through advocate Mridul Chakravarty, has also sought a direction to the Delhi government to consider constituting an expert committee of doctors, medical specialists and virologists to prepare a “detailed blueprint” for controlling or containing the spread of the virus.

The petition sought imposition of a lockdown on the grounds that during the earlier lockdown period, the doubling rate of Covid-19 cases was low. It said by allowing the movement of people and economic activities in the national capital, “the spread of the virus has severely spiked, resulting in a sharp rise in numbers of daily cases”.

“That, primary focus/efforts/ resources of the state, as of now should not be on the monetary/ economic aspects, but on health and safety of its people,” the petition read. – Hindustan Times