PIL filed in Supreme Court against certain PSEs for opening office during lockdown

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court against the illegal opening of certain offices by organisations such as SAIL, NBCC, etc during the national lockdown.

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PIL in SC

The PIL states that these offices are wrongly identifying as government offices and have started functioning. It has been filed by Anil K Aggarwal and raised issues regarding the grave concerns regarding public health due to the opening of these offices. 

It demands disciplinary action against the CMDs and Board of Directors of all such firms and asks the central government to state the firms involved in the manufacture, supply, and distribution of unexempted goods and services.

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The petition also states that these firms have wrongly itself as those firms/ departments, which overlook the health and safety of employees and family members. It states, "issued orders to their employees to step out of their houses and attend office and resume their duties during the lockdown period w.e.f. April 20, in abject and manifest violation of the statutory order and regulatory guidelines issued by the central government declaring the countrywide lockdown."

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National lockdown

The country is currently in the second phase of the nationwide lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 14 and will go on till May 3. In an address to the nation on April 14, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "It is clearly evident from the experience of the past few days, that we have chosen the correct path. Our country has greatly benefited from social distancing and lockdown. From an economic only point of view, it undoubtedly looks costly right now; but measured against the lives of Indian citizens, there is no comparison itself. The path that India has taken within our limited resources has become a topic of discussion in the entire world today."

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