Gujrat HC directs government to enforce mask discipline for everyone uniformly

The Gujarat high court on Monday asked the government to make sure that everybody , including politicians, follows the rule of wearing masks publicly places to shield themselves from contracting COVID-19 and curbing its spread.

The HC made the observation while pertaining to a video of an outsized congregation where a politician is seen addressing people that are without masks.

Chief Justice Vikram Nath mentioned the video before Government Pleader Manisha Lavkumar Shah.

Shah said the HC judge , while mentioning about the video, asked the govt to form sure that mask rules are imposed uniformly on all, including politicians.

The judge said he has noticed that in some rallies with large congregations, people weren’t wearing masks, and asked the govt what it had been doing to affect such occurrences, Shah said.

“I said that off-hand, we do not know what video the court is talking about, but a mask are some things that the state is stringently following, and that we are imposing heavy penalties (on those flouting the rule),” she said.

It was an off-the-cuff remark wherein the judge asked to form sure that the rule is imposed uniformly, the govt Pleader saleadl
In a recent order during a suo motu case on handling of COVID-19 by the state administration, the division bench of judge Nath and Justice J B Pardiwala had observed that “…the norms and protocols, as prescribed by the govt , time to time, must be scrupulously followed, and this is applicable even to political leaders of the state.”

“The political leaders of the state are expected to steer their masses and not by themselves flout the norms or the principles and regulations prescribed to combat the pandemic,” the bench had said.