Hold Ahmedabad official liable for Covid-19 spread: PIL

Gandhinagar, May 10 (IANS) A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Gujarat High Court, seeking declaration of the Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner solely responsible for causing Covid-19 spread because of his sudden and illegal order of total lockdown in Ahmedabad.

It forced Ahmedabad residents to come onto the street in large numbers to buy essentials, it said.

Harshit Indravadan Shah, an Ahmedabad resident, has filed the petition against the state government and Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner Mukesh Kumar for issuing the order, prohibiting vegetable shops and grocery shops to operate in the city from 7 p.m. of May 6.

Shah said the sudden order caused huge mental and physical harassment to Ahmedabad residents and was illegal, arbitrary and unreasonable and in violation of the Article 21 of the Constitution.

Seeking the court’s direction on declaring Kumar solely accountable for large outbreak of coronavirus as his order caused panic among people, forcing them onto the streets in large numbers and overcrowding groceries and vegetable vendors on May 6 evening.

Kumar had issued the circular, ordering shutdown of all shops, including groceries and vegetable vendors, in Ahmedabad, except milk and medicine outlets. The petitioner has said the Commissioner didn’t provide any option to the residents for fruits & vegetable or groceries.

The petitioner also cited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to the people to not start stocking and hoarding essential commodities and the state governments will make available adequate stock of essentials. The people had believed in the Prime Minister and didn’t stock, he added.

–IANS

amc/pcj