New Delhi (ILNS): The Bombay High Court on Friday confirmed that on an experimental basis lawyers from the Metropolitan Region of Mumbai may be permitted to use local trains from Mumbai for a week.
The division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Dutta and Justice GS Kulkarni passed this order while hearing PILs requesting the inclusion of lawyers in the list of essential service providers permitted to travel on local trains in Mumbai in the midst of the Maharashtra COVID-19 pandemic.
Advocate General of Maharashtra AA Kumbhakoni argued that people did not strictly comply with the basic state guidelines, including the preservation of social distancing and the wearing of masks.
The government intends to hold joint deliberations with the Railways shortly, of appropriate measures being devised to cater to the needs of not only the lawyers and their registered clerks, but also employees/staff working in other sectors, added the Advocate General.
Appearing on behalf of the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa, Senior Advocate Milind Sathe stated that if all lawyers choose to travel by rail, the traffic accompanying the use of train services will not be as expected by the State.
The Court held that in order to prevent overcrowding of trains at a fixed time of day, the State consider staggered timings for all the job sectors that have now been opened up.
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The High Court allowed lawyers appearing before other courts across the MMR to apply before the registrar for issuance of certificates permitting travel of lawyers by local train for attending remand proceedings.
“List these petitions once again on October 19, 2020 to enable the State to take steps and report developments in terms of this order on working out a mechanism for travel by suburban trains by employees/staff of different sectors either by staggering office timings or otherwise,” ordered the bench.
-India Legal Bureau