Bombay High Court: A Division Bench of A.A. Syed and S.P. Tavade, JJ., addressed the grievance of a petition with regard to the conduct of examinations in its College Campus which has been requisitioned as a COVID Centre.
Petitioner made a pint that in the college campus belonging to the petitioner-trust, it is running various educational courses which was requisitioned by an order dated 27-03-2020 by invoking the provisions of the Disaster Management Act and is being used as a Corona Care Center.
Submission has been made that the above-said premises is now required, as it is an examination center for the 2nd-year P.B.B.Sc Nursing Course.
Adding to the above, it was stated that the said premises is being used as COVID Care Center, the patients who are admitted to the said COVID Care Center are asymptomatic and they can be shifted elsewhere so that the said premises can be used for conducting the examination.
Petitioner hence sought the directions to release the said premises from the requisition and further directions to shift the COVID patients admitted in the said premises to alternate premises.
Decision
High Court stated that it will not pass any mandatory orders considering the paucity of time and risk involved in the health and safety of the students to write the examination in said premises which is presently being used as COVID care center.
Further, it was added that there appears to be a substantial risk involved in transferring the COVID positive patients.
In case the said patients are transferred, then the premises will have to be deeply sanitized and made virus-free.
Therefore, respondents-authorities shall ensure that for 80 students who are to write the examination of the 4th year, either at St. Jyotiprasad School, Daund (which is stated to have 40 rooms) or St. Sebastian High School Daund (which is stated to have 35 rooms) shall be made available from 8th September, 2020 to 16th September, 2020.
For students travelling from the outstation, necessary arrangements shall be made.
Court also directed the SDO, Purandar to oversee the aforesaid arrangements to ensure that the examination is conducted smoothly.
Matter to be listed on 23-09-2020. [Daun Medical Foundations’ Sushrusha v. State of Maharashtra, WP (ST) No. 92378 of 2020, decided on 04-09-2020]