Bombay HC asks Maha govt. to allow vaccinated people in local trains | Fusion - WeRIndia

The Bombay High Court asked the Maharashtra government why the fully vaccinated people were not allowed to travel by local trains. It asked what was the benefit of being vaccinated if they were not allowed to go out. While people are supposed to go to offices for their livelihood, they are not allowed to do so.

In this context, the Court asked the Maharashtra government to work on a complete plan for fully vaccinated people to commute by local trains. If they are allowed to travel by trains, then the burden on other modes of transport will be reduced.

The Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa (BCMG) and other lawyers filed PILs in the High Court seeking directions of the court on this matter to the state government. The Court, while hearing PILs, asked the state government to allow fully vaccinated people to travel by local trains for their jobs.

Currently, only front-line health workers and certain government employees are allowed to commute by local trains. Lawyers and other professionals are not allowed for this. So, they are using other modes of transport to reach courts and offices. Hence, they sought High Court’s intervention in this matter.

A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Girish S Kulkarni heard these PILs. While lawyers and other professionals were supposed to go to their offices, they were restricted by the government. Hence, the Court asked the state government to design a plan for allowing people who received both doses of vaccines to commute by local trains. As Railways is also cooperating, the government should also work on a plan for easing the travel of these people.

Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni on behalf of the government said that the decision could not be taken immediately as Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was on a tour of flood-affected areas. However, the concerned authority would issue a letter on this matter soon.

Image by Husain J S from Pixahive (Free for commercial use / CC0 Public Domain)

Image Reference: https://pixahive.com/photo/mumbai-railway-station/