The Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed the Centre to remove blockades on the Karnataka-Kerala border which was put in place by the Karnataka government amid the lockdown and allow entry for patients from Kerala to access emergency medical care in hospitals in Karnataka.
Stating that any further delay in issuing directions could entail the loss of precious lives of citizens, Kerala High Court’s Justice AK Jayashankaran Nambiar stated the act of Karnataka to close its borders is not humanitarian.
The PIL was filed after five deaths were reported from Manjeswaram of Kasaragod district after Karnataka closed its borders amid the lockdown over COVID-19. The residents in Manjeswaram are dependent on hospitals in Mangaluru as they are located close by. Those hospitals were just around 15 kilometres away, while to reach the closest hospitals located within Kerala in Kasaragod, they have to travel 45 kilometres.
“When the guidelines issued by the Central Government under the Disaster Management Act itself permits travel for urgent medical treatment, then the said guidelines have necessarily to be enforced by the Central Government through the removal of the blockades that prevent such travel….“The State Government of Karnataka cannot, therefore, be heard to contend that it is not obliged to respect the fundamental right of a citizen who resides outside its territorial limits,” the Kerala High Court bench said.
During the hearing, Karnataka Advocate General (AG) Prabhuling Navadgi reiterated that Karnataka’s borders cannot be opened as there is a rise in the number of COVID 19 patients in Kasaragod district and the transfer of patients may lead to transmission to those who have not been affected yet.
Justice Nambiar, who sought an amicable solution on humanitarian grounds, said that this is not an issue between two countries and the state under the Constitution includes all the states in the country.
Karnataka AG also contested that the petitioner should seek a solution from the Kerala government rather than seeking directions from Karnataka. AG Navadgi also argued that since it's a dispute between states, the Supreme Court is the right forum to deal with it. The HC countered the argument by saying the fundamental rights of the people in Kerala are affected.
Advocate P Ravindran, appearing for Kerala HC Advocates Association (KHCAA), submitted before the Court that it is the fundamental right of an Indian citizen to access the nearest medical facility, irrespective of which state it belonged to.
The High Court then asked the Karnataka AG whether they are expecting people who live near the borders and who are in an emergency to go to distant hospitals in Kerala instead of hospitals located nearby in Karnataka.
“A citizen has a fundamental right to life and personal liberty guaranteed to him by the State under Article 21 of our Constitution. Both these rights are simultaneously infringed in the case of a resident of the State of Kerala when he/she is denied entry into the State of Karnataka for availing medical treatment or is deprived of essential articles of food that are being transported into the State through blockades erected by the State of Karnataka,” the court said.