Give details of Tablighi attendees who entered Gujarat: HC

The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday directed the central government to share information of "all those persons irrespective of their nationality who were part of Tablighi Jamaat and have entered the state of Gujarat" in a sealed covered to the state government as well as the court by April 3.

The court's instruction came on a suo motu petition taken up by the high court in wake of coronavirus outbreak last month. The hearing of this PIL was supposed to be held on April 3. But, in the view of news reports suggesting that "at least 200 members of the congregation who have travelled to Gujarat, may be infected with the deadly virus," the court decided to hold an urgent hearing. The hearing is being conducted through video conferencing.

During the hearing, Advocate General Kamal Trivedi told the court that the state doesn’t have complete information of all the members who participated in the congregation and have travelled to Gujarat. He also said that “on the basis of the partial information received…the members who have participated in the congregation are being identified and dealt with accordingly by providing necessary care and protection."

Meanwhile, the Director-General of Police Shivanand Jha told reporters later in the evening in Gandhinagar that till Wednesday, 72 persons, who attended the gathering, were identified and quarantined. Out of these, 34 persons have been traced in Ahmedabad, of them, 27 are originally from Uttar Pradesh, 20 from Bhavnagar (one of them died due to the virus last week), 12 from Mehsana, Four from Botad and two persons from Navsari districts.

For latest updates on coronavirus outbreak, click here

Representing central government, Assistant Solicitor General, Devang Vyas told the court that data is being collected would be shared with the respective states including Gujarat. Vyas also submitted a note describing the event at Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi where the gathering was held between February and March, 2020 where "Clerics/Preachers of the said religion approximately 2000 travelled from different countries."

Following the submissions, the bench of chief justice Vikram Nath and justice Ashutosh Shastri passed the directions to the state and central government seeking details of "the Nationality, purpose of visit and nature of Visas of those foreign nationals who have attended the said congregation and have now entered the State of Gujarat...How many individuals belonging to the state of Gujarat and steps taken qua them to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in case they have been detained in Delhi."

The court directed the state government to submit details with regard to the identification of such persons and who are exposed to the virus, quarantine, testing and other steps taken by the government. Also, the court sought details of the implementation of the restrictions that may have been imposed by the state with respect to gatherings at all worship places such as temples, Churches, Gurudwara and Mosques.