Consider having special committee to deal with social issues in order to reduce PILs in courts: Bombay High Court to Maharashtra government

The Bombay High Court on Thursday asked the Maharashtra government to consider having a special committee for resolving social issues in order to avoid having public interest litigation petitions being filed for basic needs (Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa v. State of Maharashtra & Ors.)..A Bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice GS Kulkarni was hearing a clutch of petitions filed by lawyers and private individuals seeking directions to the Central and State governments to permit lawyers, registered clerks and persons who have been vaccinated with two doses of COVID vaccine to travel by local suburban trains..While the High Court was informed that a decision has been taken to permit lawyers to travel by train, no decision had been taken yet for the general population who have been vaccinated with two doses and would otherwise be fit to travel..While directing the governments to come up with a policy for all vaccinated persons, the Court mused as to why PILs are required for basic needs and why could the government not come up with a committee for dealing with these social issues..Justice Kulkarni suggested that the State government should understand the peculiarity of Mumbai in comparison to other cities in Maharashtra like Nashik and Nagpur when it comes to importance of public transport in the citizens’ lives..“Please do not compare Mumbai with Nagpur, Nashik, etc. This is a city with special needs. This is a city with large number of population. Travelling for people is very important as poor people cannot spend so much to travel. It is a matter of people’s livelihood. If that is the approach then everything is fine. Consider the complexities involved. Allowing some and not allowing others? What is the logic," the Court said..Advocate Alankar Kirpekar appearing for Mohan Bhide, one of the petitioners, submitted study by medical college in Vellore regarding effectiveness of COVID vaccine. In response, CJ Datta referred to an article of Dr. Shashank Joshi reported in the Hindustan Times which stated that keeping a check on the people who have taken both vaccines is a cumbersome exercise..Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni also added that even if the we take into account the number of citizens who are vaccinated and those who have been exposed to the virus, there is still at least one-third of our population that is unexposed.He stated that if local trains are opened, it is this susceptible population that will be fast infected..Kirpekar responded that “there are 70 lakh travelling. To wait for the entire population will take time. We have to start some day, we have to take baby steps and what better way than after taking vaccinations.”.During an earlier hearing, CJ Datta had remarked that the benefit of getting vaccination is to ensure that people can go about their normal lives and earn livelihood. "What is the benefit of being vaccinated? The whole point of taking the vaccine is that people are not supposed to stay at home... Let us have a beginning, and not just for lawyers, but people from other walks of lives too. Spread the net wide.".Point of vaccine is to ensure people can leave their homes: Bombay High Court asks State government to notify travel policy for lawyers, clerks.Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.