The Madras High Court on Tuesday ordered notices, returnable in six weeks, to the Centre as well as the Puducherry government on a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking the imposition of a complete lockdown in the Union Territory until the threat of COVID-19 subsides.

Chief Justice Amreshwar Pratap Sahi and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy passed the order on the PIL petition filed jointly by G. Sougomarane of the Federation of People’s Right in Puducherry and G.A. Jagannathan, a former president of Karikalampakkam village.

Claiming that Puducherry was facing an alarming situation, the petitioners wanted the Centre as well as the local government to evolve a comprehensive scheme for identifying and treating COVID-19 patients by strictly ordering hospitalisation of all infected people.

The litigants sought for a series of reliefs, which included conducting surveys in containment zones, testing all home contacts and providing treatment at State cost to those who test positive. They also wanted the government to pay ₹5,000 each to all families affected by the lockdown.

Their counsel Gnanasekaran told the court that the situation in Puducherry was serious and that COVID-19 cases were being reported at an alarming rate. He alleged that there was lack of coordination between the government instrumentalities in preventing the spread.