Allahabad HC asks UP govt to apprise it of preventive measures taken to check coronavirus

The Allahabad High Court on Sunday asked the Uttar Pradesh government to apprise it of the preventive measures taken to check the spread of coronavirus in the state. A bench headed by Chief Justice Govind Mathur asked the high court's Registrar General to ensure the presence of thermal scanners and adequate staff for checking at the entrance gates of its premises.

The order came after the bench observed that the steps taken so far by the Chief Medical Officer of Prayagraj district "do not appear to be quite effective". The high court asked its Registrar General and the state government to apprise it of the action taken to control the spread of the contagious viral disease by March 17, the next date of hearing in the case. The court has also asked the Registrar General to improve the cleanliness in and around court premises.

The bench, also comprising Justice Ramesh Sinha, passed the order on a Public Interest Litigation filed by Shashank Shri Tripathi who is an advocate. Additional Solicitor General Gyan Prakash and advocate Sanjay Yadav, appearing for the Centre, apprised the court of the steps taken so far to spread awareness about prevention of the viral infection. Additional Advocate General Neeraj Tripathi appeared for state government.

During the course of hearing, counsel for the High Court submitted that the Registrar (Protocol) of the High Court on March 7 requested the Chief Medical Officer, Prayagraj to take certain precautionary measures to check the spread of COVID-19.  In response, the CMO, Prayagraj conveyed that a team has already been sent to the High Court premises for anti-mosquito fogging and that certain teams have been constituted for rapid response to check the spread of the COVID-19. 

However, the bench observed that steps taken by the CMO do not appear to be quite effective. The matter was taken up after a special Sunday hearing on a suo moto CAA-related case.