July 17, 2026

The Covid-19 Situation - Supreme Court Intervenes

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-04-23 03:31:10

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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

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Although it should have done it much earlier, it is good that the Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of what it called "national health emergency situation" due to the surging Covid cases in the second wave and the problems being face by the people in getting treated and vaccinated all over the country. The court issued notices to the Centre and the states and UTs to know what measures were being taken to control and improve the situation and how resources were being allocated and distributed in an equitable manner so as not to cause undue sufferings in any region of the country. The court was concerned that too many HCs had issued orders that could be conflicting and said that it would issue uniform orders for the whole country if it though fit.

There is no doubt that the second wave of coronavirus has been ineptly handled - both by the Centre and the states. Ever since it became known (from the first week of March) that cases were rising, first alarmingly and then exponentially, the response was extremely slow and often knee-jerk. Super spreader events like the Maha Kumbh and rallies in state elections were allowed ignoring all health advisories. It also showed that the economically-debilitating, two-month long lockdown in the country, from end-March to May, 2020, ostensibly to break the chain but more importantly to ramp up infrastructure, had taught no lessons to the administration. India was not ready for the second wave and the familiar situation of shortages - of vaccines, hospital beds, safe houses for isolation, oxygen, medicines, et al - proved that the lockdown had served no actual purpose as far as ramping up health infrastructure was concerned.

Courts all over the country took notice of the situation, either suo motu or when petitions were filed. They started issuing orders ranging from ordering a lockdown (as in UP, which order was rightly stayed by the SC) to directing the state to ramp up health infrastructure or provide resources. But if the order of one HC goes against the order of another HC, states would land in trouble by following one or ignoring the other. Hence it would be better if the Supreme Court issues uniform orders for the entire nation after studying the matter in detail.