The Karnataka High Court on Thursday asked the Karnataka government to inform the court if it will prosecute Bengaluru South MP and the National President of BJP Yuva Morcha Tejasvi Surya and other political leaders for violating the COVID-19 guidelines of wearing masks in public. “If the person concerned has paid the fine, they have admitted their violation and therefore the failure of the state to prosecute them has very serious consequences. The state must take a call or make a statement on the next date," the High Court bench headed by Justice Vishwajith Shetty and Chief Justice Abhay Oka said, as per Livelaw.
On November 7, the state government confirmed in a submission to the High Court that Tejasvi Surya had paid a fine of Rs 250 for appearing in a public rally without a mask on September 30. This came after the High Court asked the state government if it had levied fines on Tejasvi Surya and other political leaders for violating COVID-19 guidelines and not wearing masks during public rallies. Under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 2020, persons found violating the directions, orders or regulations can be imprisoned to a minimum three months and a fine of not less than Rs 50,000 or up to Rs 2 lakh.
The High Court made the observation while hearing a plea filed by Bengaluru-based Letzkit Foundation through advocate Ramesh Puthige raising allegations that the guidelines for COVID-19 management were not followed or implemented in Karnataka. Letzkit Foundation files petitions on issues concerning the environment, inconvenience to pedestrians and senior citizens, among others.
During the case, the petitioner argued that celebrities and political leaders in Karnataka were not being booked for flouting the COVID-19 norms. Photographs showing Tejasvi Surya without a mask during a rally on September 30 were also shared with the court.
The state government reacted by submitting to the High Court that 684 people were fined for not wearing masks during the campaigning for the bye-election to RR Nagar in Bengaluru last week. The same report also mentioned around 18 non-cognisable reports of cases where people were found not wearing masks in public occasions.
The submissions showed Tejasvi Surya was fined at Vyalikaval police station limits along with his associates.