SC stays Orissa HC order on return of migrants

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed Orissa High Court’s order, which directed Odia migrants who want to return must test negative for Coronavirus.

A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, S K Kaul, and B R Gavai stayed the order while hearing an urgent Special Leave Petition filed by the Ministry of Home Affairs stating that such an order was unworkable.

Hearing a PIL filed by petitioner Narayan Chandra Jena, the High Court on Thursday directed that the state government should ensure that all the migrants who are in queue to come to Odisha should be tested negative of COVID-19 before boarding the conveyance.

Meanwhile, Surat district administration has decided to resume the movement of Odiya migrants in ShramikSpecial trains from Saturday after the Supreme Court stayed the Orissa high court order.

The Odisha government had kept in abeyance all yet-to-start incoming Shramik Special trains following the High Court order.

Three trains from Surat and one from Panvel in Maharashtra were supposed to start their journey on Friday.