A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court, comprising of Justice Devan Ramachandran and Justice Dr. Kauser Edappagath, has observed, in the case of Dr. Pradeep P.K. v. State of Kerala & Ors., that Elections fervor was seen all over the State and the COVID Protocol which the High Court defined in its earlier Order- was also followed. Taking into consideration all the circumstances, the Court closed this Writ Petition and applauded the petitioner for bringing this issue of grave concern to the notice of the Court.
"We close this writ petition commending the petitioner for having brought this grave issue to the notice of this Court and recording appreciation of the effort taken by the Election Commission of India and the Police force of this State in ensuring that there was no violation of the COVID-19 protocols by any political party subsequent to the afore extracted interim order of this Court."
Reasoning and Decision of the Court
The Court expressed that the festival of Democracy- the ‘Election’ saw participation from everyone and the wave of this festival could be seen everywhere. The Court further remarked that if the Election bodies were a little more cautious- the present crisis could have been better contained.
“The prophylactic SMS against COVID-19 – Sanitiser, Mask and Social Distancing – was unfortunately lost in the din of the electoral campaigns. There is a general sentiment that we let out guard down, but we cannot let it happen again.”
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The Petitioner by virtue of this Writ sought compliance with COVID protocol during elections. Pursuant to this, the Court passed an order on 30.04.2021 laying down certain guidelines that the officials needed to follow. The Learned Standing Counsel for ECI and Advocate General submitted that,
“the directions of this Court have been complied with in its letter and spirit and that no processions, parades, congregations of crowding of any kind was allowed between 01.05.2021 and 04.05.2021.”
While closing to the Petition the Court asserted that "we cannot turn back the clock and what has happened has happened”.
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The Court closed the Petition by appreciating the Petitioner for highlighting such grave issues which were the need of the hour.
Case Details
Case: - WP(C).No.10855 OF 2021(S)
Petitioner: DR. PRADEEP K.P
Respondent: STATE OF KERALA & ORS
Judge: Justice Devan Ramachandran and Justice Dr. Kauser Edappagath
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