Court takes suo motu cognisance of dengue exigency; registers Public Interest Litigation

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has registered a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), after taking a suo motu cognisance of the dengue spread in Bengaluru and other parts of the State, based on a letter published in the reader’s column of an English daily.

A Division Bench of High Court Chief Justice N.V. Anjaria and Justice K.V. Aravind took cognisance of a letter published in the ‘Letters to the Editor’ section of the daily dated July 9, 2024. The concerned reader Vijaykumar from Raichur, in his letter, had urged the Government to declare a medical emergency in the wake of dengue outbreak.

The Bench said the letter had reflected the pulse of society regarding the spread of dengue, as letters to the editor are the pulse of society and considered as a barometer, reflected therein are the true affairs in society, perceived by intimate eyes of a common man.

The HC Bench ordered issuing notices to Chief Secretary of Government, Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare Department and Chief Commissioner of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), directing them to apprise them on related matters by July 23, 2024.

The HC Bench sought details on preventive and remedial measures to check the spread of dengue.