A public interest litigation seeking directions to curb swine flu was dismissed by the Delhi High Court on Wednesday, stating that the suggested measures, though well-meaning, were not practical.
The court also said there was no case of any failure on the part of the administration and it neither had the jurisdiction nor the resources to deal with the city’s problems on its own. The court also refused to give any general direction for reducing the costs of tests.
“No case of the failure of administration is made out, for this Court to step in. We therefore do not deem it necessary to keep this petition pending any longer and dispose of the same with the rider of course that if in future it is deemed expedient that any further step on the subject needs to be taken ...this judgement shall not come in the way of a fresh plea being made,” said the court of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw.
One suggestion in the PIL was to screen all passengers coming into the city. The Judges said they had enquired the petitioner’s lawyers on how many flights came into the city from States that had reported cases of swine flu and how many passengers they carried and the time it would take to screen them, and quarantine them until the tests are received.
“The counsel of course has no idea of all these matters and has made the suggestion in a utopian state. It will be virtually impossible to implement, even if we were to issue a direction for screening all such passengers, as is suggested.. The suggestion is also unmindful of the huge influx by road, of people from some of such States into Delhi...,” said the court while explaining why it had decided to accept the petition in the first place.
“… considering the fact that there were also reports of some deaths having resulted from swine flu, we entertained the petition and issued notice.”
Court finds counsel’s suggestions impractical to implement and being made “in a utopian state”
