28 April,2020 07:12 AM IST | Mumbai | A correspondent
The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court on Monday pulled up the state for its claim that the novel Coronavirus could spread through newspapers. The state had, accordingly, banned the distribution of newspapers, while allowing its printing. The court, in an order dated April 20, directed the state to justify its claims with evidence and expert opinions instead of meagre statements.
A suo moto public interest litigation (PIL) in this regard was filed at the Nagpur bench of HC after the distribution ban was announced on April 18.
Government pleader DR Kale told the court that the order was amended on April 21 to allow "door-to-door distribution except in MMR, Pune, and other containment zones."
While Kale said that the virus stayed on surfaces for a while, and hence newspapers could be potential carriers when passed from hand-to-hand, the court said that there was no evidence to prove this.
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It, however, added that door-to-door delivery could be restricted in some areas while asking the government to respond to its queries along with a report by amicus curiae advocate Satyajeet Bora.
The next date of hearing in the case is June 11.
11 June
Date of the next hearing in the case
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