Coronavirus: SC seeks Centre's response on plea for evacuating Indian pilgrims from Iran

The Supreme Court Friday sought response from the Centre on a plea seeking directions for immediate evacuation of around 500 Indian pilgrims who are stranded in Iran's Qom city due to the coronavirus pandemic. A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and Surya Kant, which heard the matter through video conferencing, issued notice to the Centre on the plea which has also sought a direction to the government to provide adequate medical support to such Indian citizens till their evacuation from Iran. Iran is one of the countries worst affected by the global pandemic, also called Covid-19, and has reported over 2,000 deaths so far due to coronavirus. "The contents of the petition under Article 32 of the Constitution indicate that there is an urgent need for humanitarian assistance to be provided to Indian citizens who are stranded in Qom. In order to obviate concern over their well being, we issue notice to the Union of India, returnable on March 30, 2020," the bench noted in its order. The bench asked solicitor general Tushar Mehta to assist the court and place a status report regarding "steps which have been taken and which the Union of India through the Ministry of External Affairs proposes to undertake to alleviate the hardship which has been faced by these persons." "We hope and trust that in the meantime all necessary steps that are required to protect the welfare of these citizens will be adopted and a suitable plan of action will be chalked out in consultation with all the concerned authorities, including the Indian Embassy in Iran," the bench said. Petitioner Mustafa MH, a resident of Union Territory of Ladakh, has said in his plea that some of his relatives had travelled to Iran along with a group of about 1,000 pilgrims in December last year.

He said they were scheduled to return to India in the first week of March but are stranded in Iran due to coronavirus outbreak. During the hearing, senior advocate Sanjay Hegde, appearing for the petitioner, said that about 500 Indian citizens from Ladakh, who had gone to Qom on a pilgrimage, are presently stranded there due to coronavirus spread. Hegde said about 250 persons, who had also proceeded on a pilgrimage to Qom, have been brought back to India but several individuals in the batch of 500 may have tested positive for Covid-19. In the plea, the petitioner has said that several citizens of Ladakh had brought this issue to the notice of the Ministry of External Affairs after which the government took steps but these stranded pilgrims "have not been able to receive proper accommodation or health care." Referring to the statement given by the foreign affairs minister, the plea said, "various steps were taken and total number of around 389 people were evacuated from Iran which includes students as well." "A team of doctors was sent to Iran who conducted the test on 850 people. However, this process was conducted only once," it claimed. It alleged that Iranian government has accommodated stranded passengers in various hotels but most of these pilgrims are not in a position to pay for it since they do not have sufficient funds available with them. "Besides, they have been accommodated in hotel rooms in groups of four-five. It is extremely important to note that the situation of spread of Corona is extremely critical in Iran," the plea said, adding that accommodating them together is a serious health hazard and could lead to disastrous consequences. It has also sought a direction to the Centre to ensure that the passengers are quarantined in the manner as prescribed by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The apex court would hear the matter again on March 30..

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