PIL against Kerala Govt.’s decision to make Covid-free-certificate mandatory
Pravasi Legal Cell Vs State of Kerala,17th June, 2020
PLC file a Writ Petition before the High Court of Kerala primarily seeking the quashing of a decision of the Government of Kerala that made mandatory to carry Corona Free certificate from the country of travel w.e.f. 20th June, 2020.
It is relevant to mention that this controversy began with a circular dated 11th June, 2020 issued by the Principal Secretary to the Kerala Government, which insisted that passengers boarding private chartered flights to travel to Kerala must carry with them a Corona Free certificate from the country they travel from.
The petition alleged that the direction in question was in contravention to the regulations and guidelines formulated by the Central Government. It also mentioned about the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) dated 24.05.2020 issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs regarding repatriation of Indians stranded abroad, which allowed repatriations of all Indians irrespective of whether they were Covid-19 positive or negative. The petition also mentioned that the SOP dated 26.05.2020 issued by Ministry of Civil Aviation regarding protocols for repatriation of stranded Indians through private chartered flights also did not require an Indian national to carry out a test of Covid-19 before travelling to India.
The petition also emphasized that compliance of the direction would not be possible for the Indian expatriates, not only due to expensive Covid-19 tests, but also because many countries did not allow asymptomatic people to get tested. The petition further stated that the direction was discriminatory as it did not apply to passengers brought to India through the Vande Bharat Mission, and hence was in violation of Article 14 and Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
The petition also pointed out that no other state in India had issued similar directions such as the instant one issued by the Kerala Government. The petition also cited the Stay Order issued by the Hon’ble Supreme Court on a similar decision taken by the Orissa Government. It is also pertinent to mention that PLC had earlier submitted a representation to the Hon’ble CM of Kerala seeking withdrawal of the direction in question.
Status of the Matter: The matter was disposed off in view of the fact that the Kerala Government subsequently withdrew the controversial direction.