The Supreme Court Thursday refused to consider public interest litigation filed by retired bureaucrats in which the government was accused of mismanagement of the Kovid-19 epidemic in the country.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, from a bench headed by Justice LN Rao, said that despite a consultation issued by the Home Ministry on February 4, the investigation of passengers coming from abroad did not start until March 4.
Bhushan said that in consultation with the ministry, he was asked to avoid overcrowding, yet on February 24, the 'Namaste Trump' program was allowed to be held in which one lakh people gathered at a stadium.
According to Bhushan, experts had said that a complete lockdown should not be imposed. He said that the lockdown resulted in an unprecedented 23 percent decline in GDP, loss of jobs for crores of people, and ruining the economy.
The bench said that it was a matter of public debate and the court was 'unwilling to interfere'.
The top court said that the government should look into these matters.
The petition also alleged that the Center failed to take effective measures in time to stop the virus from spreading. It also stated that there was a need for an independent inquiry by a commission of the flaws.