Telangana High Court's 48-Hour Ultimatum To State To Decide On Lockdown

The Telangana government was given a two-day ultimatum by the High Court to decide on a lockdown to tackle rising Covid. "Within 48 hours, the government must decide on a lockdown or curfew, otherwise the court shall issue orders," the High Court said.

The High Court also issued a set of instructions and asked for a full report from the Telangana government.

Telangana recorded 4,009 cases and 14 deaths in the last 24 hours.

The High Court described the affidavit filed by the state government on Covid-related petitions "wishy washy and disappointing" and questioned whether the state was vying for the position of "Covid topper" in the country.

Chief Justice Hima Kohli asked whether the government had issued any circulars to check visits to movie theatres, malls, weddings and other public places.

"What are you going to make of the people of the state...sitting ducks," the Chief Justice asked.

With Hyderabad emerging as a hotspot, the court asked the government for "ward-wise data" on positive cases in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporaton. It also asked for RT-PCR reports within 24 hours.

The government has to come up with replies in the next hearing on Friday.

The court's tough stance follows reports that Telangana may be underreporting its Covid numbers.

The total number of cases has been seen to be far higher than the tally reported by the daily media bulletin.