Goa govt moves Bombay HC to permit fully vaccinated persons to enter without COVID -ve report

Panaji: The Goa government has moved an application before the Bombay High Court at Goa seeking directions to permit fully vaccinated persons to enter the State in the absence of a COVID-19 negative certificate.

A Bench of Justices MS Sonak and MS Jawalkar today granted time to the petitioners to respond to the application and placed the matter for hearing on July 12, 2021.

The application was made in the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by South Goa Advocates’ Association (SGAA) seeking various prayers connected with COVID-19 management in the State.

The petition sought modification of the order passed by the High Court on May 6, 2021 through which the Court had directed the Goa government to:

Ensure that no person is allowed entry into the State without a COVID-19 negative certificate obtained within 72 hours before entering the State;

Formulate a protocol to deal with issues of essential supplies and the procedure for entry of the persons involved in essential supplies.

Subsequently, the district magistrates (DMs) of North and South Goa issued orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure mandating requirement of COVID-19 negative certificate for entry into the State subject to relaxations granted by the Court.

The State government submitted that the COVID-19 situation in Goa has substantially improved, with only 195 active cases as on July 6, 2021.

The present situation is in stark contrast to the situation prevailing before the May 6, 2021 order was passed, the government pointed out.

“The positivity rate is less than 5% and recovery rate in the State is 97%”, the application submitted.

The government submitted in its application that through a subsequent order, the May 6 order had been modified to include drivers of goods vehicles and those involved in making essential supplies of oxygen, medical drugs and food articles.

The government also apprised the Court that domestic inter-state travel had been permitted conditionally in the following states and union territories:

Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Nagaland and Meghalaya permitted entry after full vaccination;

Delhi and Meghalaya permitted travel from specific states in the country after full vaccination;

Punjab and Chandigarh permitted entry after vaccination of one dose also.

The Expert Committee for the Goa government in its latest meeting recommended that inbound travellers from other states and union territories holding authentic vaccination certificates be allowed to enter the State, without insisting on negative reports.

The Court had previously dismissed an application filed by the State of Goa seeking modification of the May 6 order on the ground that the conditions for carrying a COVID-19 negative certificate for all persons entering the State may not be feasible in the present situation.

Advocate General Devidas J Pangam appeared for the State. Advocates Akash Rebello, Rui Gomes Pereira and Varun Bhandanker appeared for the petitioners.

Source: BarandBench.com