The High Court of Karnataka on Friday directed the State government to immediately act firmly against the political leaders and others who grossly violated the COVID-19 health safety norms during three recent events attended by former and current Ministers, including the Chief Minister.
The three events were the wedding ceremony of the son of former Minister Parameshwar P.T. Naik at Ballari on June 15, the foundation stone ceremony for a statue of Kempe Gowda near the international airport in Bengaluru on June 27, and a protest rally against fuel price hike held by Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee in Bengaluru on June 29.
While Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and several pontiffs attended the foundation stone-laying ceremony, Health Minister B. Sriramulu attended the wedding, and several former Ministers and MLAs of the Congress took party in the rally.
“It is necessary for the State government to immediately look into the alleged violations, and if [they are] found true, the violators have to be dealt with very firmly,” said a Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice M. Nagaprasanna, in its order on a PIL petition.
The Bench said the government should handle such instances of violation with a firm hand, no matter how influential the violators are.
The PIL petition, filed by the city-based Letzkit Foundation, alleged that mandatory health norms such as maintaining social distancing and wearing masks were being blatantly flouted by people, particularly political leaders cutting across party lines. It was also pointed out that Mr. Naik had recently tested positive for COVID-19 and was undergoing treatment in Bengaluru.
₹ 5.37 cr. in fine
Earlier, the government stated that grievance redressal mechanisms had been established by urban local bodies across the State to enable the public to lodge complaints about violations of COVID-19 safety norms. As many as 1.28 lakh cases had been registered and a total penalty of ₹5.37 crore collected under provisions of the Karnataka Epidemic Diseases Regulations, 2020, as on July 14 from across the State. This was in addition to the fines collected in Bengaluru Urban and Rural districts, the government said.
The Bench adjourned further hearing to July 27 while asking the government to submit a summary of the violations registered under provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
