[Coronavirus Lockdown] Police excesses, decongestion of jails, food for the poor: The Karnataka HC's directions to the state [Read Order]

In the wake of various letters and requests for e-filing of Public Interest Litigation (PILs) received by the Registrar (Judicial), the Karnataka High Court has issued a number directions to be undertaken by various authorities during the Coronavirus lockdown..The following directions have been passed by a Division Bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice BV Nagarathna.Police excesses and LathichargeThe first issue that was considered by the Court was of police excesses and unwarranted lathicharge on the citizens. On this aspect, the Court directed the Director General and Inspector General of Police of the state to issue guidelines/instructions to police personnel to refrain from lathi charge. The Court went on to note,."The learned Advocate General as well as the learned Additional Government Advocate who are present here to assist us invited our attention to a direction/guidelines issued by the Commissioner of Police of the City of Bengaluru calling upon the police to show restraint. It will be appropriate if the Director General and Inspector General of Police of the State issues similar guidelines/instructions to the police personnel all over the State. If such guidelines are issued which will apply across the State, we are sure that there may not be an occasion to make allegations regarding police excesses and police indulging in lathi charge."Karnataka High Court.Decongestion of jails The Court noted that a Committee headed by the Executive Chairman of the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority has been constituted The minutes of the Committee meeting point out that various directions have been issued for implementation of the directions issued by the Apex Court. .Further it was informed to the Court that Committees have been constituted at the District Level to identify the under-trial prisoners who are charged with offences for which the prescribed punishment is up to seven years or less. The identification of prisoners who have been convicted for a period of seven years or less has also been undertaken, the Court was informed..The Court directed the state government to ensure that the police strictly follow the guidelines laid down by the Apex Court in the case of Arnesh Kumar vs State of Bihar, in which the issue of unnecessary arrests was discussed.Further, to attain the objective of decongestion of prisons, the state will have to issue fresh guidelines in the matter, the Court observed..On a related note, the Kerala High Court yesterday directed the release of prisoners facing up to 7 years' imprisonment, to decongest jails as a precautionary measure against the spread of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and in line with the the Supreme Court’s directive on this aspect..Further, a High Powered Committee monitored by the Delhi High Court has relaxed the criteria for release of under trial prisoners on interim bail from Delhi jails..Midday meals in Anganawadis On the point of midday meals in Anganawadis, the state has been directed to inform the Court the manner in which the supply of food to pregnant and lactating mothers and adolsecent girls would continue..Supply of food to poor peopleOn the issue of supply of food to poor people, daily wage workers, and people residing on the streets, it was submitted that in order to reduce congestion in the ration shops, the state should essentially consider the question of delivery of food grains. Additionally, the direction in the Swaraj Abhiyan v. Union of India judgment, which contemplated that the state government will have to provide rations to the citizens on production of identity proof, was also brought to the attention of the Court. In this regard, the Court held,."Therefore, the State Government will take a decision on applying the directions contained in paragraph 128.4 of the decision of the Apex Court in the case of SWARAJ ABHIYAN (supra) to the persons affected by the lockdown declared by the Central Government.".Another concern was that if the state is going to supply cooked food to the needy sections through Indira Canteens, it will lead to mass gathering of people, which may result in community spreading of the Coronavirus. The Court directed that even this aspect needs to be looked into by the State government. .Adding on, the Court said, "We expect the State Government to respond to this subject before the next date by producing comprehensive plan for supply of food grains/food to the needy people, poor people, daily wage workers, people residing on the streets, railway platforms, bus stands etc.".Hoarding essential suppliesWith respect to hoarding essential supplies, the Court ordered the state government to apply the available laws strictly so that hoarding of essential supplies may be prevented..Pourakarmikas - Health, working hours and food The next important issue that was taken up was regarding pourakarmikas (sanitation workers). In this regard, the Court directed Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to ensure that safety equipment is provided to all pourakarmikas working under it..A related issue that was raised pertained to collection of waste from the houses of persons who have been subjected to home quarantine. The state government will have to respond by taking special measures on this aspect as the apprehension is that pourakarmikas will be affected by the Coronavirus, the Court said..The Court also directed the state government to ensure that all the pourakarmikas working in all areas are provided with breakfast at mustering centres in the morning. This will take care of their food requirement as their duty timings are now restricted from 6:30 am to 10:30 am, the Court held..Providing protective equipment to Doctors, Nurses etcThe issue surrounding protective equipment for doctors, nurses and other staff members of private hospitals, clinics and laboratories available for testing Coronavirus would be dealt with during the next hearing, the Advocate General intimated the Court..Public health facilities at grassroot levels The Court asked the state government to make a statement whether public health facilities at the grassroot levels such as Primary Health Centres would be still be made available during the 21-day lockdown period..Food for stray/pet animals The Court again directed that the state to look into the matter of providing food to stray animals, stray dogs as well as lack of availability of food for pet animals..This apart, the Court urged all NGOs working in the field providing relief to various classes of citizens, to upload all the information so that the state government may work alongside these NGOs"Considering the extraordinary situation which we are facing, it will be appropriate if the State Government provides a portal on its website with a request to all NGOs to upload information about the nature of work they are doing and the geographical area of their work area of their work. If the said information is centrally available on the portal, the State Government can more effectively take the help of NGOs and in fact, allocate different categories of services in different areas to NGOs.".The matter will be next heard on April 3.[Read order here]