Supreme Court Not To Issue Orders To Govt On Migrant Workers For Now

The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday said that it could not frame a better policy than the Government at this stage on the migrant workers' crisis. The apex court bench led by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde observed that the Court is not inclined to interfere with the decision of the Centre for some time.

The Supreme Court took up hearing of a petition filed by activists Harsh Mander and Anjali Bhardwaj on payment of wages to migrant workers stranded due to the lockdown imposed all over the country on account of COVID-19. The CJI led bench heard the matter via video conferencing.

The Supreme Court will take up the matter again on Monday, April 13. In the interim senior advocate and activist Prashant Bhushan has been given time to go through the status report filed by the Centre on the subject of steps taken for the relief of migrant workers.

Kerala-Karnataka Border Sealing Dispute

The Supreme Court took up the matter regarding the sealing of Kerala-Karnataka border due to the lockdown. The Kerala High Court had earlier directed the Centre to order the Karnataka government to allow passage of those in need of emergency medical treatment. The Karnataka government went in for an appeal to the Supreme Court, which had on Friday, asked the Centre to settle the matter between the two states amicably.

The Solicitor-General informed the Supreme Court on Tuesday that the Union Home Secretary interacted with chief secretaries of both the states and that the dispute does not exist as of now. The SG further informed the apex court that both the states had arrived at an agreement over conditions and protocols for passage at the inter-state border at Palapadi, on cases requiring urgent medical treatment.

The Supreme Court treated the matter as closed and passed an order accordingly.