The Tamil Nadu government on Friday told the Madras High Court that there was no plan, at present, to enforce a complete lockdown in parts of Chennai.
It also termed as “rumours” messages being circulated on social media about the government having stopped issuance of e-passes to residents of Chennai who wanted to travel to other districts. Appearing before a Division Bench of Justices Vineet Kothari and R. Suresh Kumar, Additional Advocate General S.R. Rajagopal said that decisions on lockdown were being taken by the State government on the basis of recommendations of a technical committee appointed to look into ways and means to contain COVID-19. “As of now, Lockdown 5.0 is on with some relaxations,” he pointed out, stating that although the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 was on the rise in Chennai, the government had been taking steps to quarantine the infected and their family members. Restrictions were imposed on the movement of people from particular buildings and streets.
At this point, Justice Kumar asked if there was any plan to implement a complete lockdown in parts of Chennai and the AAG replied in the negative. “I don’t think there is going to be a 100% lockdown in Chennai… As of now, the government does not have any such plan,” he said.
“There is also some news about the government having stopped issuing e-passes to residents of Chennai city. Is that correct,” the judge asked. Mr. Rajagopal said that these were “rumours”.
He said that e-passes were issued only by Collectors of destinations to which residents of Chennai wished to travel. Those Collectors had to issue e-passes after taking into consideration various circumstances, including the need to quarantine visitors after letting them into their districts, he told the bench.
The AAG said that the intensity of the virus had changed and many asymptomatic people were testing positive for the disease. The government was working hard to contain its spread and the success of those efforts would depend on the cooperation of the people, he said.
Appreciating the efforts taken by the government, Justice Kumar said: “We see that the government is taking good steps. Even Ministers are on the streets, but you will have to be very careful because Chennai is continuing to be a hotspot.”
Meanwhile, advocate V. Vasanthakumar urged the court to take up a case filed by him seeking complete lockdown in the city.
However, since the case papers were not before them, the judges posted the matter to Monday, subject to the roster to be decided by Chief Justice Amreshwar Pratap Sahi for next week. The judges also clarified that they only wanted to know, in public interest, whether the government had any plans to impose a complete lockdown in Chennai.
