A petition has been filed before the Karnataka High Court seeking for directions to send migrant labourers who have tested negative for Covid-19 and who are being kept in shelter homes or their temporary dwellings, back to their homes. The negative tested labourers, according to the petitioner, must be dropped to their homes for free by the government in a government transportation facility.
The Petitioner is an agriculturist, is associated with social work and has also been raising his voice against illegal activities. The Respondents in the current petition are the Government of India, State of Karnataka, Department of Revenue and the District Disaster Management Authorities in Karnataka.
In this petition, the petitioner has highlighted the issue of discrimination, unconstitutionality and unscientific way of keeping the migrant labourers from not letting them reach their home towns even though they are not COVID019 symptomatic nor have they tested positive and have also completed the required quarantine period.
The Government of Karnataka in its order of 29th March 2020 had directed all the State governments to invoke their powers under the Disaster Management Act and provide temporary shelters, food and basic needs to the migrant laborers and if such migrant laborers have moved out to reach their home towns, that should be quarantined for 14 days as per the standard protocol.
The petitioner showing concern to the mental pain and agony of the laborers has written to the State that those who have been quarantined but have no symptoms of Covid-19 should be released and dropped back to their houses. The petitioner in his letter had also shown concern regarding availability of the essential commodities and transportation to such laborers, but no concern was shown to the migrant laborers.
The grounds on which the petition has been filed are as follows ;
The locking of migrant laborers under compulsion by not providing transport facilities to them, whereas persons from schools, colleges, etc have been evacuated by Centre and the State, is violative of the Article 21 of the Constitution and the Disaster Management Act,2005.
Absence of any scientific hurdle in release of the workers as they have been found with no symptoms and have cleared the quarantine period of 14 days.
The migrant labourers have responsibilities towards their kith and kens, which the Centre or the State cannot take responsibility of.
The time of closure of lockdown cannot be predicted by either the Centre or the State.
The capitalists under whom these workers are working are influencing the State and Centre to not send them back to their homes as that will bring their businesses to standstill.
-India Legal Bureau