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Mumbai: A fresh public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Bombay high court challenging the new Covid-19 Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and circular issued by the state government on March 1.
The PIL has reiterated the issue of discrimination between vaccinated and non-vaccinated citizens and sought penal action against officials who have passed orders directing authorities to collect fines from persons failing to wear masks. The plea states that imposing fines is not part of any rule under the Disaster Management Act and the same have been collected illegally from the alleged violators.
The HC is expected to hear the PIL in due course.
According to the PIL, filed by activist Firoze Mithiborewala through advocate Abhishek Mishra, though this time the state had followed proper procedure while issuing the SOPs and circulars, the restrictions imposed on non-vaccinated persons were still unconstitutional and against various orders passed by the Supreme Court and HC.
In its order of March 2, the HC bench of chief justice Dipankar Datta and justice Makarand Karnik had held that the former chief secretary had not followed proper procedure while issuing the SOPs and circular in July and August last year and hence allowed the PILs as they had challenged only those SOPs and circulars.
On the issue of infringement of the constitutional rights of the general public, which was also argued by the petitioners in those PILs, the court had granted the activists the liberty to challenge the same along with the SOPs and circulars issued after July and August orders were withdrawn, in a fresh PIL.
The petition has also stated that as the centre and state have admitted that vaccination is not mandatory and in light of studies and reports by experts that vaccinated persons are also likely to spread the virus, the conditions imposed by the state were unconstitutional and hence should be set aside.
The petition has further stated that as there were indications that vaccination was made mandatory to benefit vaccine companies, the concerned officials, including the chief minister who was part of the authority that approved the vaccines, should be booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the investigation should be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is also a party in the petition.
One of the final prayers in the petition is pertaining to the fine amounts being imposed on persons found to be flouting the mandatory rule of wearing masks.
The petition states that as the DM Act or the Epidemic Act does not have any provision of imposing or collecting fines from the public, it was an illegal act and the former chief secretary should be held liable for such a decision and action should be initiated against him accordingly.
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