A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Sunday directed the State government to take urgent steps to facilitate those people who were stranded at Walayar to cross the State border by issuing necessary passes.
The Bench made it clear that all those persons who are crossing the border in accordance with the passes so issued shall strictly adhere to the guidelines and other orders issued by the State government to deal with the situations day by day.
The Bench comprising Justice Shaji P. Chali and Justice M.R. Anitha passed the directive at a special sitting held on Sunday in the view of the filing of a petition highlighting the pathetic condition of the persons stranded at the Wayalar check-post.
The court ordered that while taking the steps, immediate attention and preference shall be given to pregnant women, senior citizens and children. The others too should be issued passes at the earliest, since they were stranded from May 9 onwards.
Besides directing the State government to ensure that basic facilities were provided to the persons reaching the entry points, the court directed the State and other authorities to coordinate with officials of other State governments with respect to the passes issued for inter-State travel so as to have parity of dates.
The court also ordered the State government to adequately attend to the pleas of 13 students who got stuck at Malahalla, near Muthanga. The court further made it clear that these directives were issued taking into account the special circumstances and the order “cannot be treated as a precedent for any future purposes.”
The Bench further made it clear that the directives “are not intended to water down the advisories, orders and guidelines issued by appropriate governments, since we are conscious of the fact that the governments and their officials are better equipped to deal with the situations taking into account the factual circumstances occurring from time to time during the lockdown period.”