The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday sought a response from the State government in a public interest litigation petition that challenged the government order making e-pass mandatory for people travelling from outside the State to enter Tamil Nadu.
A Division Bench of Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and P. Rajamanickam ordered notice to the State and sought a response in the petition filed by advocate S.P. Hariharasudhan from Theni. He sought to quash the government order.
In his petition, Mr. Hariharasudhan said as per the guidelines issued by the Centre for Unlock 4.0 relaxation, it was specifically mentioned that the States must not restrict inter- and intra-State movements, and no separate permission was required for such movement.
However, Tamil Nadu had made e-passes mandatory for people coming from other States and this was arbitrary, as it was not in consonance with the guidelines issued by the Centre, he said and sought to quash the order.
He pointed out that the main purpose of introducing the e-pass was to regulate travel during the curfew. Continuing it after allowing free movement was creating chaos among the public, he said.
The case was adjourned to October 14.
