On the 14th of May, the Telangana High Court put a stay on the Telangana Government’s orders of restrictions on ambulances coming from Andhra Pradesh.
During a court hearing, the Telangana High Court (HC) bench expressed disappointment over the issued orders. The bench said, everyone has a right to save their lives and the Telangana Government could not stop ambulances with patients coming for treatment.
The hearing was scheduled on a petition filed by G.V. Krishna Rao, an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) official in Andhra Pradesh. Hearing the petition, the Court immediately stayed the Government Order under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.
The Court directed the Telangana Advocate General to see that the orders were implemented immediately. Recently, in order to control the spread of the Wuhan Virus (COVID-19) the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) imposed a complete lockdown. During the period of lookdown, the State Government also directed the police to monitor the movement of people in the State and restrict travel from different states. Acting upon the Government’s orders, the Telangana Police stopped several vehicles and ambulances with patients entering Telangana.
However, the advocate representing the Andhra Pradesh Government argued and said, the Epidemic Diseases Act and National Disaster Management Act 2005, does not allow a State to discriminate on the basis of the residence of a patient. Medical infrastructure in India irrespective of the State in which it is located is a national asset and the Supreme Court has directed that there should be seamless coordination between all the States.
Following the Telangana High Court orders, the police allowed ambulances from neighboring states.
Meanwhile, the next hearing regarding the case is adjourned to the 17th of May.
Stay tuned for further updates.
