The High Court of Karnataka on Tuesday termed “ridiculous” the action of the authorities to close majority of the roads connecting Kerala in Dakshina Kannada district to prevent the spread of COVID-19 when people from Kerala can enter Karnataka through other districts.
The court asked how the State government can compel people from Kerala, even if they have RT-PCR negative reports, to travel extra distance to enter Dakshina Kannada district by keeping only four roads open of the 27 roads connecting Kerala with the district when the Centre’s guidelines mandate keeping open the roads connecting State borders.
However, the court made it clear that its observations should not be construed as suggestions that the roads in other districts connecting Kerala should also be closed. A Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice S. Vishwajith Shetty, made these oral observations during the hearing of a PIL petition filed B. Subbaya Rai, a Mangaluru-based advocate.
“Can you ask people entering Karnataka from Kerala via flights to come to a particular airport,” the Bench questioned. “What the government should do is to provide facilities to check RT-PCR test reports at every entry point from Kerala,” it said.
Further hearing has been adjourned till March 18.
Earlier, the government counsel told the Bench that the decision to keep only four roads open was taken by the District Disaster Management Authority to ensure that only those with RT-PCR negative reports were allowed to enter the district from Kerala as per the government’s February 16 circular.
It was clarified by the government counsel that closure of roads bordering Kerala is only in DK district as a large number of people commute using these roads and no roads connecting Kerala have been closed in any other districts.
However, the Bench pointed out that neither did the February 16 circular propose closure of border roads nor had the technical advisory committee on COVID-19 made such recommendations though the government has now supported DK district authority’s decision to keep open only four roads where facilities to check RT-PCR report are made.
