E-passes to be issued for medical emergency: Delhi government

NEW DELHI: Delhi high court on Thursday asked the AAP government to upload on its official website and publicise that despite sealing of the capital’s borders, people with medical emergencies can come to Delhi hospitals after availing an e-pass.
The high court gave the direction after being informed by the government that its guidelines for Covid-19 lockdown allowed people with medical emergencies to enter the national capital by applying for an e-pass which would be made available to them.
It said the Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) had issued an order on June 1 with regard to prohibited and permitted activities, during the phased reopening-Unlock 1.0, and the guidelines permitted entry into the national capital from neighbouring states in case of medical emergencies.
The submission was made before a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan by additional standing counsel Sanjoy Ghose. Taking note of the DDMA order, the bench disposed of a plea by lawyer Kushagra Kumar seeking immediate desealing of Delhi’s borders to enable citizens in NCR or other states to access central government hospitals and medical facilities in the national capital.
The high court said the government must today itself upload the June 1 order on its various department websites in a prominent manner and have it highlighted for easy access by citizens. Since the beginning of this month, the government had sealed the Delhi borders for one week after chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the moment we opened the borders, people from across the country would come to Delhi for treatment.
Delhi-Gurugram, Delhi-Ghaziabad and Delhi-Noida borders are shut for a week. Only essential service providers would be allowed and employees could cross the border by showing their identification cards or ID cards, Kejriwal had said.
“The order of Delhi government is not only inhumane and illegal, but authoritarian in nature. Instead of creating medical infrastructure and working to ensure medical facilities, it is sealing the borders and thereby stopping people from availing medical facilities in central government hospitals in Delhi,” the plea had argued.