SC gives Centre, states 15 days to take migrant workers to their homes

Top court asks authorities to withdraw legal complaints against migrant workers

Migrant workers stranded in the nationwide lockdown — first implemented on March 24 to contain the spread of coronavirus, and extended four times subsequently — must be transported to their homes within 15 days, the Supreme Court told the central and state governments on Tuesday.
 
The court also asked the authorities to consider withdrawing legal complaints against migrant workers charged with violating lockdown rules, according to news agency PTI.
 
A Bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M R Shah said the schemes for the welfare and employment of migrant workers should be publicised, and posted the matter for further hearing in July.

The central government had on May 28 given the court a preliminary report, which said 9.1 million migrant workers had been taken to their states during the lockdown (as of the previous day).

Tens of thousands of people walked home from cities after losing their jobs when India announced one of the world’s strictest lockdowns and suspended all public transport to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Nearly 200 migrant workers died in road accidents while returning to their homes during the lockdown, according to reports. According to the SaveLIFE Foundation, a charity that works towards improving road safety and emergency care in India, more than 1,400 road accidents killed 750 people, including 198 migrant workers, between March 25 and May 31, reported news agency Reuters.

Restrictions were eased on Monday when malls, restaurants and places of worship opened under government guidelines for social distancing.

At present, India is the fifth-worst-hit nation by number of cases — behind only the US, Brazil, Russia, and the UK — according to data from the US's Johns Hopkins University.

India’s death toll in the coronavirus outbreak has risen to 7,466 and the number of total cases has climbed to 266,598 after the country reported 311 fatalities and added 9,987 cases — both single-day highs — on Tuesday, according to the Union health ministry.