Covid concern: PIL in SC to remove agitating farmers from Delhi borders

Concerns over transmission of Covid-19 due to “mass gathering” of thousands of farmers in the ongoing protests in Delhi resulted in an advocate filing a PIL demanding a ban on large gatherings.

“Because of the mass gatherings of protestors, the rate of transmission of coronavirus disease is likely to get increased and since there is no vaccine available for the masses yet, the only way to prevent the spread of coronavirus is to put immediate restrictions on such gatherings and practice social distancing,” urged a PIL filed by an advocate Om Prakash Parihar for the petitioner, a law student Rishabh Sharma

“Majority of protestors are elderly people who are more vulnerable to this deadly virus, and it is in their best interest to completely avoid such mass gatherings,” the petition prayed. Farmers from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and some other States are camping at various borders. Their demand is to repeal all three farm reform acts.

The petition also mentioned that because of all the protest and closed border points, vehicular traffic has been affected and people who are travelling to and from Delhi to get medical treatment in Delhi hospitals are also affected. Further, “considering the present situation in Delhi, the Covid-19 cases have been rising and this makes the transportation of essential medical equipment even more important, but because of these protests, the same is not possible,” it is said.

It noted that though the Police has allotted a dedicated place for the protestors but they are not shifting/moving to the allotted place. It said that under Indian Penal Code, if such acts pose a threat of infection/ spread of such life-threatening disease, the same is a punishable offence under Section 269 and 270 IPC.

The petitioner prayed for a direction to the administration to open all the borders of Delhi, “issue a writ of mandamus or other appropriate direction to the Respondents and the concerned authorities to shift the protestors to the allotted place and provide guidelines related to social distancing and use of face masks.”