Social distancing non-negotiable; Executive, Judiciary & civil society must work together to tackle COVID-19 in Andaman and Nicobar: Cal HC

To prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to minimize the anxiety and agony of the islanders, the Calcutta High Court has passed a slew of directions to the Andaman & Nicobar Administration, including a direction to ensure strict compliance of social distancing norms.."..‘social distancing’ is non-negotiable till April 14, 2020 and the administration shall see to it that there is no slip in regard to compliance with such norms.", the Division Bench of Chief Justice Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan and Justice Dipankar Datta..Stating that personal protective equipment (PPE), masks, alcohol-based sanitizers etc must be provided to healthcare professionals as early as possible, the Court has directed the Central Goverement to leave no stone unturned to meet the requisition requested by the Island Administration.."The administration shall take special care to ensure that there is no spread of the virus amongst the vulnerable local indigenous communities, like the Jarawas, the Onges, the Shompens and the like", it is ordered..The Court has also directed the administration to continue its endeavour to provide home delivery of essentials and medicines, and in areas where such delivery is not possible, allow shops to be opened for a few hours..Directions have also been issued to ensure supply of drinking water, LPG cylinders, collection of milk and milk produce etc. .It is clarified that helicopter and shipping services should be utilized only for essential services, which would also include transportation on medical ground. .Among several other directions, the Court has directed the Central Government to extend its fullest cooperation and assistance to the Island Administration to prevent any loss of life in the islands, either due to the disease or starvation..The order was passed in a suo moto petition taken up by the High Court, pursuant to a letter addressed to it from Advocate D C Kabir. .On March 28, 2020, the Court had sought response from the Centre/Island Aministration and a Monitoring Committee was constituted to make an overall assessment of all relevant factors. .After considering the reports submitted to it on April 1, the Court observed, .The efforts and initiatives of the administration, in these trying times, need to be appreciated instead of picking bits and pieces of faults/remissness, here and there, in working out the relief programmes and highlighting the same for condemnation. A problem of such magnitude, as the present one, was never visualized. The misery is compounded by reason of what the CS says, and correctly so, a fight against the unseen enemy.Calcutta High Court.It nonetheless observed that the language used by the Chief Secretary, Andaman & Nicobar in the report placed before the Court was in bad taste..It said, "Though we are conscious that the officers at the ground level must be performing their functions and discharging their duties overcoming numerous obstacles, ..that they could be severely stressed by reason of what they have encountered during the last few weeks, the report of the CS insofar as it indirectly faulted judicial intervention (page 3) left a bad taste in our mouth.".In response, stating that the role of the judiciary was to supplement and complement the executive in times of dire need, the Court remarked, ... in reality, as in the present case, (judiciary) has intervened to support the system rather than putting a spanner in the works (as we perceive is the mindset of the CS). Citing “the sudden orders of the Hon’ble Court” as one of the reasons for allowing the public to come on the streets could well have been avoided, since there was no such direction in our earlier order. We reckon, our efforts have been misconstrued by the CSCalcutta High Court.The Court thus called for a "united effort" to tackle the problems arising from different quarters because of the spread of COVID-19.".. whether it be the executive, the judiciary or the civil society, have to work hand in hand to avert any further disaster, which might spell doom for the islands.", it said..The Court has also constiuted "monitoring sub-committees" for North and Middle Andaman, Little Andaman and the Nicobar group of islands in connection with the COVID019 pandemic. Deputy Commissioner of Nicobar District, the Superintendent of Police of Nicobar District and the Assistant Commissioner, Campbell Bay shall be part of this committee. .Additional Solicitor General ANS Nadkani with Advocates G Indira, KV Jagadishvaran, Santosh represented the Centre/A&N Administration. .Read the Order: