Delhi HC Issues Notice In Plea Demanding Centre To Permit Operation Of Public Transportation In Delhi

The Division Bench of Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal has issued notices to the Central Government and theDelhi Government.

Filed by law student Shreesh Chadha, the petition suggests that the government should frame guidelines to ensure safety and hygiene of the passengers and of those who operate the modes of public transportation.

As per the Petitioner, this can be done by setting up thermal scanning units, and other necessary equipment, to ensure that only those passengers who have not tested positive for the COVID19 virus are utilising the public transportation for permitted purposes.

It is highlighted by the Petitioner that the recent guidelines of the Ministry of Home Affairs have allowed government and private establishments to operate with limited capacity.

In order to relieve the burden off the economy, the Petitioner submits that the government has also allowed plying of private vehicles.

The primary argument of the Petitioner is that the revised guidelines have ignored the large chunk of Delhi's population that heavily relies on public transportation to commute to work. This makes it near impossible for such persons to commute to work, while no hindrance is caused to those owning private vehicles.

This distinction, as well as the complete ignorance of the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Road Transportation And Highways, and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on preventive measures in public transportation, as per the Petitioner, has rendered the MHA guidelines arbitrary, unreasonable and contrary to Articles 14,19 and 21 of the Constitution.

'The revised guidelines of the MHA have caused an unequal and disproportionate effect on people availing public transportation services to commute to their workplace, and hence, is violative of Article 14 of the Constitution', the petition states.