HC dismisses plea with cost for seeking direction against GO

CHENNAI: The first bench of Madras High Court on Thursday dismissed a petition with a penalty of Rs.10,000 on a litigant for asking a direction to quash a government order issued by the state government mandating masks in public places.

Heading the first bench along with Justice N Mala, Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari passed this order, coming down heavily on the petitioner for filing the PIL without any material evidence.

Advocate Ramamoorthy of Chennai, who filed the petition, claimed that the wearing of masks is preventing people from inhaling oxygen. Therefore, the GO issued by the state government in January making masks as mandatory should be quashed.

"Wearing the mask has been creating breathing troubles for the people. So, the GO making masks mandatory need not be in force, " the petitioner claimed.

When the third wave of COVID-19 spurted in January, the state government issued a GO to make the masks compulsory in public places and noted that a fine of Rs.500 would be imposed on people who defy the order.

However, the judges pointed out that the petitioner failed to submit the required evidence and documents to substantiate his claim.