The DGCA in its May 31 circular said flight operators should try to keep the middle seat vacant. (File)
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday permitted all flight operators to allow passengers to occupy middle seats in flights, but said they should strictly comply with guidelines of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
A division bench of Justices SJ Kathawalla and SP Tavade refused to accept the contentions raised in a petition filed by Air India pilot Deven Kanani, who said the middle seats of all international and domestic flights should be kept vacant to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
“We are of the prima facie view that the safety and health of passengers on board the aircraft qua (with regard to) COVID-19 virus is adequately taken care of even if the middle seat of the aircraft is not kept vacant on account of passenger load and seat capacity, the court said.
The court permitted air carriers to allow passengers to occupy the middle seat in flights, but said they should strictly comply with DGCA’s guidelines on measures to be taken to prevent spread of the coronavirus.
The DGCA in its May 31 circular said flight operators should try to keep the middle seat vacant but if it has been booked, then the passenger shall be provided with a wraparound gown in addition to the mask and face shield.
If possible, passengers from one family or those travelling in one group could be allotted seats along with the middle seat, it said in the circular.
The court in its order said it has not seen any material to show wrongdoing on part of the Air India and Air India Express or violating circulars issued by the DGCA on March 23 and endangering the lives of passengers travelling back to India from abroad in the Vande Bharat flights.
The bench noted that all precautionary measures, as stipulated with regard to passengers and the crew, are complied with by all flight operators.
Upon disembarkment, thermal screening of all passengers is again carried out and they are thereafter compulsorily placed under institutional quarantine for seven to 14 days. It is not established till date that any passenger, who tested positive, has been infected on board an aircraft, the court said.
It further said even if the middle seat is kept vacant, the person occupying the window seat, while getting out for going to the washroom and thereafter returning to the seat, is likely to touch the person sitting on the aisle seat.
The court noted that a high-level expert committee of the Ministry of Civil Aviation has specifically considered and rejected the suggestion that seats must be kept vacant between passengers.
Mr Kanani claimed the Air India was violating guidelines laid down in a circular dated March 23 by the Centre, to prevent the spread of COVID-19 during air travel.
The Air India, however, had opposed the plea, and informed the court last month that it was following all safety precautions as prescribed by the DGCA.
World
37,01,904Active
37,77,131Recovered
4,33,391Deaths
Coronavirus has spread to 188 countries. The total confirmed cases worldwide are 79,12,426 and 4,33,391 have died; 37,01,904 are active cases and 37,77,131 have recovered as on June 15, 2020 at 9:30 am.
India
3,32,424 11502Cases
1,53,106 3758Active
1,69,798 7419Recovered
9,520 325Deaths
In India, there are 3,32,424 confirmed cases including 9,520 deaths. The number of active cases is 1,53,106 and 1,69,798 have recovered as on June 15, 2020 at 8:00 am.
State & District Details
| State | Cases | Active | Recovered | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DistrictCases Akola757 Aurangabad1974 Dhule228 Jalgaon1039 Mumbai45478 Mumbai Suburban5363 Nagpur692 Nashik1575 Palghar1421 Pune9920 Satara629 Solapur1291 Thane13660 Yavatmal150 Ahmednagar190 Amravati291 Beed54 Bhandara41 Buldhana88 Chandrapur32 Hingoli208 Jalna201 Kolhapur646 Latur139 Nanded176 Nandurbar42 Parbhani78 Raigad1462 Ratnagiri350 Sangli145 Gadchiroli42 gondia69 Osmanabad125 Sindhudurg114 Wardha11 Washim13 |
107958 3390 |
53030 1638 |
50978 1632 |
3950 120 |
|
DistrictCases Chittoor319 Guntur511 Krishna557 Kurnool795 Sri Potti Sriramulu Nell*296 Anantapur428 East Godavari356 Prakasam104 Srikakulam183 Visakhapatnam103 West Godavari199 Y.S.R.205 Vizianagaram23 |
6163 198 |
2765 77 |
3314 119 |
84 2 |
|
DistrictCases Bengaluru Rural40 Bengaluru Urban529 Mysuru107 Bagalkote103 Ballari60 Belagavi337 Bidar219 Chikkaballapura149 Dakshina Kannada179 Dharwad61 Gadag45 Kalaburagi669 Mandya346 Tumakuru36 Uttara Kannada95 Vijayapura201 Chamarajanagara0 Chikkamagaluru19 Chitradurga14 Davangere204 Hassan205 Haveri24 Kodagu4 Kolar29 Koppal5 Raichur369 Ramanagara3 Shivamogga67 Udupi1176 Yadgir538 |
7000 176 |
2959 |
3955 307 |
86 5 |
|
DistrictCases North Goa57 South Goa69 |
564 41 |
490 37 |
74 4 |
0 |
|
DistrictCases Chengalpattu1314 Chennai23324 Kanchipuram503 Madurai322 Namakkal83 Ranipet133 Thanjavur130 Thiruvallur774 Thiruvarur67 Tiruppur116 Vellore71 Virudhunagar185 Ariyalur444 Coimbatore188 Cuddalore477 Dharmapuri15 Dindigul175 Erode75 Kallakurichi324 Kanniyakumari110 Karur88 Nagapattinam99 Perambalur133 Pudukkottai53 Ramanathapuram119 Salem258 Sivaganga46 Tenkasi103 The Nilgiris17 Theni129 Tiruchirappalli119 Tirunelveli433 Tirupathur45 Tiruvannamalai496 Tuticorin333 Villupuram509 Krishnagiri43 |
44661 1974 |
19679 798 |
24547 1138 |
435 38 |
|
DistrictCases Kannur357 Kottayam73 Alappuzha76 Idukki40 Kasaragod333 Kollam118 Kozhikode90 Malappuram119 Palakkad224 Pathanamthitta98 Thiruvananthapuram104 Thrissur106 Ernakulam60 Wayanad36 |
2461 54 |
1340 |
1102 56 |
19 |
|
DistrictCases Raipur46 Korba100 Balod41 Baloda Bazar85 Balrampur17 Bastar2 Bemetara21 Bijapur2 Bilaspur100 Dantewada0 Dhamtari6 Durg31 Gariyaband10 Janjgir-Champa56 Jashpur77 Kabirdham52 Kanker19 Kondagaon0 Korea39 Mahasamund54 Mungeli87 Narayanpur0 Raigarh47 Rajnandgaon52 Sukma0 Surajpur9 Surguja14 |
1662 150 |
891 16 |
763 132 |
8 2 |
|
DistrictCases Hyderabad2475 MedchalMalkajgiri75 Ranga Reddy183 Suryapet87 Vikarabad40 Warangal Urban32 Adilabad22 Jagitial77 Jangoan8 Jayashankar Bhupalapally9 Jogulamba Gadwal40 Kamareddy11 Karimnagar17 Khammam26 Kumuram Bheem Asifabad8 Mahabubnagar30 Mancherial43 Medak11 Nalgonda33 Narayanpet3 Nirmal21 Nizamabad76 RajannaSircilla16 Sangareddy26 Bhadradri Kothagudem5 Mahabubabad10 Mulugu3 Nagarkurnool8 Peddapalli5 Siddipet7 Wanaparthy1 Warangal Rural4 YadadriBhuvanagiri40 |
4974 237 |
2412 209 |
2377 25 |
185 3 |
|
DistrictCases Baleshwar190 Bhadrak137 Jajapur322 Dhenkanal36 Kalahandi33 Kendrapara164 Khordha238 Koraput16 Sundargarh102 Anugul26 Balangir129 Bargarh16 Boudh34 Cuttack155 Deogarh33 Gajapati61 Ganjam581 Jagatsinghapur91 Jharsuguda8 Kandhamal28 Kendujhar34 Malkangiri20 Mayurbhanj73 Nabarangpur2 Nayagarh86 Nuapada69 Puri103 Rayagada2 Sambalpur16 Sonepur29 |
3909 186 |
1190 71 |
2708 114 |
11 1 |
|
DistrictCases Barwani60 Bhopal1880 Dewas140 Dhar132 East Nimar266 Gwalior211 Indore3839 Jabalpur276 Ujjain799 Agar Malwa15 Alirajpur3 Betul35 Burhanpur351 Chhindwara16 Dindori29 Harda4 Hoshangabad37 Khargone196 Mandsaur112 Morena109 Raisen71 Ratlam51 Sagar228 Shajapur39 Shandol14 Sheopur26 Tikamgarh18 Vidisha37 Anuppur22 Ashoknagar13 Balaghat9 Bhind87 Chhatarpur35 Damoh26 Datia12 Guna8 Jhabua14 Katni3 Mandla15 Narsinghpur17 Neemuch319 Niwari0 Panna20 Rajgarh31 Rewa39 Satna24 Sehore12 Seoni2 Shivpuri15 Sidhi17 Singrauli13 Umaria10 |
10802 161 |
2666 |
7677 300 |
459 12 |
|
DistrictCases Ahmadabad17125 Anand107 Arvalli134 Banas Kantha147 Bhavnagar146 Gandhinagar410 PanchMahals107 Surat2311 Vadodara1555 Bharuch56 Botad55 Chhotaudepur37 Dang5 Dohad43 GirSomnath45 Jamnagar63 Kachchh99 Kheda98 Mahesana159 Mahisagar125 Narmada25 Naysari35 Patan105 Rajkot135 SabarKantha101 Surendranagar55 Tapi6 Valsad47 Amreli16 DevbhumiDwarka22 Junagadh31 Morbi4 Porbandar11 |
23544 506 |
5742 35 |
16325 442 |
1477 29 |
|
DistrictCases Ajmer379 Banswara91 Bharatpur563 Jaipur2177 Jhalawar329 Jodhpur1748 Kota503 Nagaur500 Alwar90 Barmer34 Bhilwara250 Bikaner112 Chittorgarh188 Churu81 Dausa61 Dholpur60 Dungarpur374 Hanumangarh31 Jaisalmer53 Jhunjhunu64 Karauli17 Pali352 Rajsamand140 SawaiMadhopur26 Sikar231 Tonk171 Udaipur724 Baran59 Bundi5 Ganganagar8 Jalore164 Pratapgarh14 Sirohi130 |
12694 293 |
2836 54 |
9566 229 |
292 10 |
|
DistrictCases Faridabad867 Sonipat404 Ambala93 Bhiwani60 CharkiDadri43 Fatehabad38 Gurugram2950 Hisar98 Jhajjar114 Jind38 Kaithal48 Karnal104 Kurukshetra55 Nuh68 Palwal120 Panchkula39 Panipat78 Rohtak145 Sirsa50 Yamunanagar19 Mahendragarh47 Rewari56 |
7208 459 |
4117 249 |
3003 200 |
88 10 |
|
DistrictCases Agra933 Aligarh215 Amroha80 Bareilly17 Bijnor157 Bulandshahr166 Firozabad190 Gautam Buddha Nagar1119 Kanpur Nagar286 Lucknow386 Mathura129 Meerut504 Moradabad252 Muzaffarnagar117 Rae Bareli78 Rampur203 Saharanpur298 Sant Kabeer Nagar132 Varanasi243 Auraiya37 Ayodhya120 Azamgarh138 Baghpat68 Bahraich73 Balrampur49 Banda27 Basti214 Bhadohi60 Budaun23 Etah52 Etawah46 Ghaziabad794 Ghazipur159 Gonda59 Gorakhpur166 Hapur225 Hardoi49 Jalaun41 Jaunpur194 Jhansi41 Kannauj69 Kasganj16 Kaushambi6 Mainpuri46 Mau48 Mirzapur22 Pilibhit15 Pratapgarh15 Prayagraj30 Sambhal116 Shamli40 Shravasti23 Sitapur32 Sultanpur97 Unnao42 Ambedkar Nagar92 Amethi206 Ballia60 Barabanki168 Chandauli38 Chitrakoot4 Deoria143 Farrukhabad36 Fatehpur3 Hamirpur3 Hathras43 Kanpur Dehat4 Kheri72 Kushi Nagar67 Lalitpur3 Maharajganj85 Mahoba3 Shahjahanpur25 Siddharth Nagar159 Sonbhadra10 |
13615 497 |
4948 90 |
8268 393 |
399 14 |
|
DistrictCases Central4817 East2472 New Delhi3405 North3059 North East1914 North West5463 Shahdara1580 South2329 South East2446 South West2391 West4768 |
41182 2224 |
24032 1290 |
15823 878 |
1327 56 |
|
DistrictCases Dhubri30 Goalpara19 Marigaon50 Baksa14 Barpeta28 Biswanath16 Bongaigaon12 Cachar80 Charaideo29 Chirang6 Darrang20 Dhemaji47 Dibrugarh61 Dima Hasao86 Golaghat203 Hailakandi57 Hojai89 Jorhat24 Kamrup42 Kamrup Metro276 KarbiAnglong13 Karimganj85 Kokrajhar37 Lakhimpur57 Majuli2 Nagaon143 Nalbari23 Sivasagar20 Sonitpur27 South SalmaraMancachar4 Tinsukia84 Udalguri28 West KarbiAnglong5 |
4049 331 |
2081 |
1960 376 |
8 |
|
DistrictCases East District3 North District0 South District3 West District0 |
68 5 |
64 5 |
4 |
0 |
|
DistrictCases Buxar134 Gaya115 Munger188 Patna279 Rohtas256 Arwal52 Aurangabad75 Banka134 Begusarai243 Bhagalpur266 Bhojpur103 Darbhanga143 Gopalganj123 Jehanabad178 Kaimur (bhabua)105 Lakhisarai72 Madhepura82 Madhubani199 Nalanda123 Nawada122 PurbiChamparan138 Purnia135 Saran101 Siwan139 Vaishali87 Araria68 Jamui47 Katihar175 Khagaria253 Kishanganj75 Muzaffarpur96 Pashchim Champaran57 Saharsa88 Samastipur139 Sheikhpura118 Sheohar20 Sitamarhi73 Supaul87 |
6470 180 |
2261 |
4170 214 |
39 |
|
DistrictCases 24 Paraganas North1031 24 Paraganas South281 Darjeeling97 Howrah1435 Jalpaiguri88 Kalimpong18 Kolkata2777 Maldah235 Medinipur East153 Medinipur West159 Hooghly604 Murshidabad125 Nadia139 Paschim Bardhaman70 Purba Bardhaman130 Alipurduar39 Bankura116 Birbhum206 Coochbehar210 Dinajpur Dakshin50 Dinajpur Uttar216 Jhargram9 Purulia66 |
11087 389 |
5552 |
5060 518 |
475 12 |
|
DistrictCases South Andamans33 Nicobars1 North And Middle Andaman1 |
38 |
5 |
33 |
0 |
|
DistrictCases Pondicherry111 Karaikal2 Mahe4 Yanam0 |
194 18 |
98 6 |
91 9 |
5 3 |
|
DistrictCases Anjaw0 Changlang31 Dibang Valley0 East Kameng0 East Siang1 Kamle0 KraDaadi0 KurungKumey0 Leparada0 Lohit3 Longding0 Lower Dibang Valley0 Lower Siang0 Lower Subansiri0 Namsai2 PakkeKessang1 Papum Pare8 Shi Yomi0 Siang0 Tawang1 Tirap0 Upper Siang1 Upper Subansiri0 West Kameng0 West Siang1 |
91 4 |
84 1 |
7 3 |
0 |
|
DistrictCases Dimapur20 Kiphire3 Kohima7 Longleng0 Mokokchung0 Mon8 Peren2 Phek1 Tuensang3 Wokha0 Zunheboto0 |
168 5 |
80 |
88 12 |
0 |
|
DistrictCases Dadra And Nagar Haveli20 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
DistrictCases Ranchi148 Bokaro16 Deoghar5 Dhanbad32 Garhwa80 Giridih19 Hazaribagh110 Jamtara2 Koderma58 Simdega48 Chatra1 Dumka5 East Singhbum170 Godda2 Gumla28 Khunti10 Latehar14 Lohardaga8 Pakur4 Palamu27 Ramgarh75 Sahebganj0 SaraikelaKharsawan20 West Singhbhum21 |
1745 34 |
832 |
905 89 |
8 |
|
DistrictCases Gomati74 North Tripura14 Dhalai196 Khowai24 Sepahijala174 South Tripura53 Unakoti49 West Tripura45 |
1076 30 |
760 30 |
315 |
1 |
|
DistrictCases Kargil77 LehLadakh43 |
549 112 |
468 100 |
80 12 |
1 |
|
DistrictCases Anantnag395 Bandipora175 Shopian255 Srinagar300 Baramulla271 Budgam110 Ganderbal37 Jammu138 Kathua53 Kulgam295 Kupwara231 Rajouri39 Ramban151 Reasi26 Samba25 Udhampur155 Mirpur0 Muzaffarabad0 Doda27 Kishtwar10 Poonch35 Pulwama108 |
5041 163 |
2593 39 |
2389 120 |
59 4 |
|
DistrictCases Chamba29 Hamirpur117 Kangra105 Sirmaur11 Solan32 Una41 Bilaspur21 Kinnaur2 Kullu4 Lahaul And Spiti0 Mandi21 Shimla10 |
518 16 |
174 |
337 24 |
7 1 |
|
DistrictCases Jalandhar297 Ludhiana293 Patiala132 Amritsar485 Barnala25 Faridkot74 Firozepur50 Gurdaspur154 Hoshiarpur140 Kapurthala44 Mansa31 Moga65 Pathankot86 S.A.S Nagar137 Sangrur107 Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar (Nawanshahr)99 Sri Muktsar Sahib71 Tarn Taran163 Bathinda60 Fatehgarh Sahib57 Fazilka53 Rupnagar (Ropar)74 |
3140 77 |
717 46 |
2356 29 |
67 2 |
|
DistrictCases Haridwar94 Dehradun370 Nainital323 Almora71 Bageshwar31 Chamoli36 Champawat45 PauriGarhwal36 Pithoragarh43 Rudraprayag30 Tehri Garhwal110 Udam Singh Nagar83 Uttar Kashi24 |
1819 34 |
684 |
1111 34 |
24 1 |
|
DistrictCases Bishnupur7 Chandel5 Churachandpur32 Imphal East10 Imphal West21 Jiribam3 Kakching2 Kamjong5 Kangpokpi26 Noney1 Pherzawl3 Senapati6 Tamenglong2 Tengnoupal9 Thoubal18 Ukhrul4 |
458 9 |
367 9 |
91 |
0 |
|
DistrictCases Chandigarh313 |
352 7 |
54 |
293 7 |
5 |
|
DistrictCases East Khasi Hills22 East Garo Hills0 East Jaintia Hills0 North Garo Hills1 Ribhoi0 South Garo Hills0 South West Garo Hills4 South West Khasi Hills0 West Garo Hills5 West Jaintia Hills1 West Khasi Hills1 |
44 |
18 |
25 3 |
1 |
|
DistrictCases Aizawl10 Champhai0 Hnahthial0 Khawzawl0 Kolasib11 Lawngtlai2 Lunglei2 Mamit8 Saiha0 Saitual1 Serchhip0 |
112 5 |
111 5 |
1 |
0 |
|
DistrictCases Lakshadweep District0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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