On Thursday (April 22, 2021), after the Additional Solicitor General appearing for the Centre told the court that the Supreme Court had agreed to take Suo moto cognizance of the issues related to the pandemic, the Bombay High Court said that they would continue to hear the Public Interest Litigation on COVID19 issues.
The development occurred after ASG Anil Singh attempted to intervene by citing news reports about the Supreme Court taking Suo moto cognizance of the COVID-19 issues.
The division bench led by Chief Justice Dipankar Dutta said that the Supreme Court has yet to stay the High Court proceedings and that the High Court will continue to hear the case until then.
Advocate Sneha Marjadi, who was represented by advocate Arshil Shah Simil Purohit, had filed a Public Interest Litigation in the High Court. Another petitioner, Nilesh Navalakha represented by attorneys Rajesh Inamdar and Shashwat Anand had also sought the high court's help on pandemic related issues.
The delay in RT-PCR test results, the need for a doctor's prescription for government testing, and issues with hospital beds and oxygen are all listed in the petition.
Advocates Rajesh Inamdar and Shashwat Anand have made submissions on other topics, such as providing uniform prices for the antiviral drug Remdesivir and steps to prevent black marketing.
The Supreme Court has taken Suo moto jurisdiction over problems such as oxygen supply, medication supply, and vaccination policy in relation to the COVID19 pandemic.
Notice to the Union of India was released accordingly by a bench consisting of Chief Justice of India SA Bobde, Justices L Nageswara Rao and S Ravindra Bhatt. To assist the court, Senior Advocate Harish Salve was named as an amicus curiae in the case.
