NE LEGAL BUREAU
CHENNAI, MARCH 16
The Madras High Court on Monday issued notice to the Tamil Nadu government on a PIL, seeking to close down all state run TASMAC liquor shops and bars “to save the citizens of Tamil Nadu from the spread of coronavirus.”
The division bench, comprising Justices M M Sundresh and Krishnan Ramasamy, before which a PIL from Advocate A P Suryaprkasam came up for hearing, issued notice to The Managing Director of Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board and Commissioner of Corporation of Chennai, returnable by a week.
The petitioner, while referring to WHO classifying coronavirus as a pandemic and the Health Ministry’s March 5 circular cautioning against mass gatherings, said Chennai city is thickly populated, with more than 10 million people, many residing in narrow streets and lanes. It would be very difficult for any resident, particularly those from the middle class and poorer sections of society, to get protected from contracting corona virus, he said.
Referring to state run liquor outlets, he submitted that hundreds of TASMAC shops and bars attached to them, along with illegal bars, were being run in unhygienic conditions. All of them were located in thickly populated areas and these outlets were always overcrowded throughout the day If any among the hundreds of patrons are infected with the virus, it could spread to all customers in no time at all, but to their family members and neighbours. The effective available remedy to the government was to immediately close TASMAC shops and bars to prevent “this mass destruction of mankind” o save its citizens from certain deaths the petitioner said and prayed for a direction from the Court to the Corporation Authorities to immediately close down all of them.
