The Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed the central government to remove blockades erected by Karnataka on the national highways connecting the two states in the backdrop of coronavirus lockdown so as to allow free movement of vehicles carrying persons for urgent medical treatment.
A bench comprising justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Shaji P Chaly gave the order on a PIL seeking a directive to open the roads connecting Kasaragod in Kerala and Mangaluru in Karnataka.
Karnataka had shut the road in view of the lockdown to check the COVID-19 outbreak."...we feel compelled to issue directions to the central Government today because we are of the view that any further delay could entail loss of precious lives of our citizens", the Court said in its order delivered on Wednesday night after a detailed hearing earlier in the day.
The order came amid reports of at least seven deaths after the ambulances carrying seriously ill patients to hospitals in Mangaluru, 15 kilometers from Kasaragod, were blocked by Karnataka police.
The court said the national highways come under the administrative jurisdiction of the central government and the provisions of the National Highways Act clearly provide for the maintenance of such highways by it. The act even provides for penal measures to be taken against anyone blocking such a highway, it said.
The arterial roads that connect Mangaluru in Karnataka to Kasaragod in Kerala were part of the National Highway network and it is therefore the duty of the central government to ensure that the said roads are kept free of blockades, the court said.
"No doubt, restrictions may be imposed in times of a national emergency such as the present, but when the guidelines issued by the central government under the Disaster Management Act itself permits travel for urgent medical treatment, then the said guidelines have necessarily to be enforced by the central government through the removal of the blockades that prevent such travel,” the HC observed.
The HC reiterated that it expected the central government to act expeditiously in this matter, “taking note of the human lives that are at stake".
Karnataka's stand
The direction comes a day after the Karnataka government informed the Kerala High Court that it would open two roads connecting both states, which it had closed following the COVID-19 outbreak, though it was unwilling to open the contentious Kasaragod-Mangaluru road in the current scenario.
The Advocate General of Karnataka had informed the Kerala HC that it was ready to open two roads connecting the state with Kerala's Kannur and Wayanad districts to facilitate movement of essential goods.
Two interstate roads from Wayanad to Karnataka-- Sulthan Bathery-Gundelpet road, Manathavadi-Sirgur-Mysur road--will remain open during the lockdown, it submitted.
Karnataka also expressed willingness to open the Iritti-Coorg-Mysore road if the Kannur district collector gives a request to this effect.
Hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Kerala High Court Advocates Association seeking a direction for opening the roads, the HC had earlier observed that the blockades put up by erecting embankments on the inter-state roads would affect the people's right to life.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention to ensure vehicles carrying essential commodities to the state were not blocked at the border.
In a letter to Modi, Pinarayi said it was "incorrect" to portray certain districts in the state as "highly affected" by the coronavirus.
Kasaragod has 110 people currently under treatment, the highest in any district in Kerala, which has reported two deaths. Three deaths have been reported from Karnataka.
(With PTI inputs)
