CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Friday directed the state and central governments to file a detailed comprehensive report on the DMK's plea to provide clearances for the landing of aircraft so that Indians stranded abroad due to the COVID-19 lockdown can be brought back to the state.
During the virtual hearing, a division bench comprising justices Vineet Kothari and R Suresh Kumar issued the notice based on the plea filed by TKS Elangovan of the DMK. According to the petitioner, the party has received several phone calls, voice and visual messages through WhatsApp, e-mail and letters from stranded Tamils with requests to make arrangements to bring them back to the state. However, the state has been taking steps to limit the number of air services.
The counsel for the Union government opposed the plea saying that the DMK is a political organisation, which cannot direct the Centre in such issues, and urged that it be dismissed.
However, P Wilson, a senior advocate who appeared for the DMK, submitted that there are lakhs of Indians stranded abroad due to the lockdown including thousands from Tamil Nadu.
These persons have been approaching the embassies abroad requesting to be evacuated. Though the Union government has issued a standard operating procedure to bring them back, the Tamil Nadu government is not issuing permits for those aircraft to land, he added.
Recording the submissions, the division bench directed the central government to provide details of persons stranded who want to return to India, number of flights operated so far to bring back persons to India and then to Tamil Nadu and details of the relief being provided to persons stranded in various places. It also asked the state to report on the permissions given for such flight operations.
The bench adjourned the plea to June 19.