SC favours resolving road blockade issue between Karnataka and Kerala

The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre to resolve the issue, arising out of Karnataka putting blockade on the national highway connecting Mangaluru to Kasargod following the high incidences of COVID-19 patients in Kerala.

A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and Deepak Gupta asked the Union Health Secretary to discuss the issue with Health Secretaries of Kerala and Karnataka to find out a solution.

The top court issued notice to Kerala and the Centre on a petition filed by Karnataka against the Kerala High Court's interim order of April 1 to open its borders with Kerala.

The court decided to put the matter for further consideration on Tuesday, April 7.

The court, meanwhile, said that no state should precipitate the matter at this juncture.

The Karnataka government had on Thursday rushed to the top court, saying the lifting of the blockade on the National Highway linking to Kerala, would lead to "disastrous consequences" and result in "serious outbreak" of COVID-19.

The state government had contended there was an "extreme urgency" to pass the order on March 31 under the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897, banning all movement of people and goods, including patients in order to prevent any further transmission of COVID-19. It had maintained that the blockade was the "need of the hour since Kasargod in Kerala had turned into a Coronavirus Hotspot having maximum cases of the infection".

Congress leader Mithun M Rai, who fought Lok Sabha polls unsuccessfully from Dakshina Kannada constituency, also filed a special leave petition in the top court through advocate Sanjay M Nuli, against the Kerala High Court's order.

Kerala, for its part, claimed the closure of road had obstructed people to access medical facilities in Mangaluru and even resulted in the death of four persons, besides affecting the supply of essential goods.