Point of vaccine is to ensure people can leave their homes: Bombay High Court asks State government to notify travel policy for lawyers, clerks

The Bombay High Court on Monday granted time to Maharashtra government to release the notification granting permission to issue tickets to lawyers and registered clerks who have been administered at least one dose of vaccination, so that they can travel by local suburban trains (Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa v. State of Maharashtra & Ors.)..A Bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice GS Kulkarni was informed by the Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni that vaccinated lawyers will be issued periodical passes for travel by local trains after they approach the concerned Bar Associations or Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa (BCMG) who will verify whether they are fit to take local trains to participate in hearings and professional purpose..This he stated was decided in the administrative committee meeting held on July 29, 2021 which included bar associations, Central and State government officials and railway officials. He added that the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) headed by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was "slightly reluctant" to issue a letter for lawyers, as after the second wave only "frontline health workers" and certain government employees were permitted to take local trains.He informed the Court that the concerned authority would issue a letter as soon as Thackeray had been on a tour of the flood-affected areas and a decision could not be taken yet. ."What is the benefit of being vaccinated? The whole point of taking the vaccine is that people are not supposed to stay at home. Courts have begun functioning physically. Lawyers will have to go to the Courts. Railways are also cooperating. Please use your good offices. Let us have a beginning, and not just for lawyers, but people from other walks of lives too. Spread the net wide. We are not just concerned for lawyers but for others as well," the Court said..The Court was hearing a clutch of public interest litigation petitions filed by BCMG and other individual persons seeking directions to Maharashtra government to consider allowing lawyers and registered clerk to commute by local trains to attend hearings and for other professional purposes. .During the hearing of the plea, the Court also mused as to whether the State government had come up with any comprehensive plan for permitting people to use local train after they had received both doses of COVID vaccine.Justice Kulkarni asked the government to work on a comprehensive plan for the future for the same so that the burden on other modes of transport can also be reduced. "Why people travelling by buses cannot be shifted to trains. Is there a comprehensive plan for the near future for all stakeholders regarding the entire population that is vaccinated? Because it is not like the roads are in a good condition. Look at the road and traffic conditions. It takes 3 hours one way to reach Dahisar (from south Mumbai). Why entire population travelling by road cannot travel by train?" Justice Kulkarni said. He also stated that it was imperative to work on such a plan because this uncertainty was affecting everybody including their finances. .The Court sought the State government's response for access to local trains to lawyers and other vaccinated persons by Thursday, August 5.