HYDERABAD: The Telangana HC on Thursday refused to consider a plea that sought direction to the State government to conduct Covid-19 tests on every individual in red and orange zones of the State. It said that it is firstly not feasible to conducts tests on every person in these zones. Secondly, forcing people to take the tests is not democratic and will lead to a paniclike situation, the court observed.
A bench, comprising Justice MS Ramachandra Rao and Justice K Lakshman, was dealing with a PIL filed by Varun Sankineni from Suryapet. G Pujitha, the petitioner’s counsel, submitted that the number of Covid-positive cases are increasing in Suryapet since the health officials are conducting tests only on primary suspects and ignoring the asymptomatic patients.
She urged the court to direct the State to conduct tests on all the residents residing in red and orange zones, including all asymptomatic persons, to curtail the spread of the virus. The bench said that as per media reports, the State and the Central governments are already overburdened with losses due to complete lockdown. Under these severe financial crisis, it will not be appropriate to consider the petitioner’s plea, the bench noted and made it clear that a person can be permitted to undergo such tests in a ICMR-approved testing laboratory. The bench posted the matter to May 18 for hearing the arguments of the State Advocate General.