Telangana High Court on Wednesday asked the State government as to what steps it is taking to bring back 107 pilgrims of the State who are stranded in Sirohi of Rajasthan due to the nationwide lockdown.
A bench of Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy, hearing a PIL petition seeking a direction to bring home the stranded pilgrims, directed the government to file counter affidavit by Friday.
A lawyer, K. Ramakanth Reddy, wrote a letter to the HC stating that 107 pilgrims from Telangana had gone to Shantivan Prajapita Brahma Kumari Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya in Sirohi of Rajasthan to attend a spiritual retreat. However, they are stranded there for over the past six weeks due to lockdown.
On April 29, the Centre had permitted inter-State movement of stranded persons.
While 1,200 pilgrims of Maharashtra were allowed to go back to their places, those from Telangana could not be brought back, the lawyer said in his letter.
Taking up the latter as PIL petition, the bench asked Advocate General B.S. Prasad about the status of 107 stranded pilgrims.
The AG told the bench that authorities already contacted their counterparts in Rajasthan. All the pilgrims of the State would be brought home safely at the earliest, he assured.
In another PIL plea over conditions in old-age homes in twin cities, lawyer Vasudha Nagaraj, who was appointed as amicus curiae, sought one month time to file a detailed report.
The lawyer informed the bench that she could not visit the old-age homes due to lockdown.
The bench asked her to file a detailed report on the matter by June 10.
The HC had taken up a letter written by Telangana Legal Services Authority member secretary over lack of basic amenities in old-age homes in general and Mamatha Old Age Home of Nagaram specifically as PIL petition.
The old age home in Nagaram had only two toilets for 52 inmates in a block of two double bedroom houses, the letter said.
