Panchkula: HC directs admin to follow safety measures for quarantine centres

The petitioner alleged that the quarantine centres have been identified in thickly populated areas and also the quarantine protocol was not being adhered to by the authorities. (Express Photo by Gurmeet Singh)

The Punjab and Haryana High Court in another case Tuesday ordered the Panchkula Administration to ensure that the protocol and safety measures required to be adopted at the quarantine centres and the restrictions imposed upon the persons lodged there are strictly complied with and followed by the authorities.

The order was passed in a petition filed by Devender Mahajan challenging the administration’s decision to identify Dharamsalas and other such similar accommodations in populated areas of Panchkula as quarantine centres for the purposes of lodging the people who have come from abroad and are required to be quarantined as per the guidelines issued by the Centre. The petitioner alleged that the quarantine centres have been identified in thickly populated areas and also the quarantine protocol was not being adhered to by the authorities as the persons lodged there were being allowed to intermingle with the public at large. However, Additional Advocate General Deepak Balyan rebutted the arguments.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice Ravi Shankar Jha ordered the authorities to look into the claims of the petitioner and thereafter take a decision by taking all the facts and factors into consideration specifically the guidelines issued by the Government of India with regard to selection of the quarantine centres.