When the Court Sensitises the Government

The complete and utter failure of the governance of the health of the people being witnessed in India amid the Covid-19 pandemic has meant that the actions of the high courts and the Supreme Court have come as a modicum of succour to citizens struggling to find beds, medicines, oxygen and quality healthcare. Proceedings in the court are supposed to be conducted in a calm and detached atmosphere, but the charged nature of the hearings in the high courts and the Supreme Court when it comes to the Covid-19 pandemic is clear for all to see, even in the live tweets. Judges have expressed their anguish, rage and frustration at the sheer incompetence and callousness with which governmental authorities have responded to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The righteous anger of the judges has sometimes had salutary effects. The Madras High Court’s chastening of the Election Commission of India, which hit the headlines across the country, resulted in a quick response from the body on ensuring the maintenance of Covid-19-appropriate norms in counting during elections. Yet, sometimes the expression of anger has gone too far, as with the case of the Allahabad High Court which proceeded to order lockdowns in five cities of Uttar Pradesh without a thought for the consequences on the livelihoods of those who would be affected.