Is a complete lockdown on the cards in Chennai? Madras High Court asks the state government as cases surge

The Madras High Court on Thursday questioned why the Tamil Nadu government could not implement a complete lockdown in Chennai owing to the steep surge in the number of cases in the State, particularly in Chennai and its suburbs. The court asked if the government had a plan in place that included a complete lockdown in the State capital.

"We want to know whether the government has devised any special scheme, which includes complete lockdown or curfew to contain the spread in Chennai and surrounding areas for sometime," the Justices Vineet Kothari and R Suresh Kumar asked state government pleader V Jayaprakash Narayan during the virtual court proceedings after concluding the listed cases.

The judges expressed concern over the "alarming" rise in cases despite the steps being taken by the Tamil Nadu government to contain the spread of the infection.


On Thursday, Chennai touched 27,398 cases. Of the 1875 cases reported in Tamil Nadu on Thursday, Chennai accounted for 1,407.

The judges, however, explicitly stated that they raised the question about lockdown in the capacity of being citizens of the state and were not initiating any suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) proceedings.

Jayaprakash Narayan sought time till Friday for getting the government's response.

He said the government has extended the lockdown till June 30 in the state and had announced various relaxations, including allowing public transport in other parts of the state.

The state government had relaxed a slew of restrictions that included permitting shops, dine-in services in hotels and private sector offices to operate. However, it had barred public transport buses and trains in Chennai and its neighbouring three districts where the number of cases were extremely high.

"No further decision has been taken. I will get instructions from the special officer J Radhakrishnan, who has been appointed to coordinate Covid-19 work in Chennai, and other officials on the latest development," he said.