Bharat Bhushan v. Union Of India And ORS

$~3 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + W.P.(C) 3044/2020 & CM APPL. 10602/2020 BHARAT BHUSHAN .....Petitioner Through:

Mr. Mayank Aggarwal and Ms.

Lovisha Aggarwal, Advocates.

versus UNION OF INDIA AND ORS ..... Respondents Through:

Mr. Kirtiman Singh, CGSC for R-1 and R-2.

Ms. Veena Ralli, Advocate for R-3.

CORAM:

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE NAJMI WAZIRI

O R D E R

% 05.05.2020 1.

The hearing was conducted through video conferencing. 2.

The petitioner is aggrieved by the non-operation of his mobile telephone no. 9911113079 issued by respondent no. 3- M/s Bharti Airtel Limited. It is the number officially used by the petitioner. He is a Sub-Divisional Magistrate in Delhi and is responsible for implementation of the COVID-19 action plans in various areas and containments zones, including supply of food packets, ration, safety gear and equipment, etc. throughout Delhi. The said number has been advertised by the Government of Delhi, so that people could contact him in case of need. Even otherwise it is only through this number that he can be reached by many departments, agencies, NGOs, organisations and

persons. Recently, there a medical emergency in his family, to which he was unable to respond to promptly, because of the non-activation of the said number.

3.

Issue notice. The learned counsels named above accept notice on behalf of the respondents.

4.

The learned counsel for the petitioner states that the said connection is pre-paid i.e. monies have to be paid in advance before the number becomes operational. In the past couple of days an amount of Rs. 698/- has been credited to the petitioner's number. So there is sufficient credit to keep it operational. Be that as it may, the petitioner is ready and willing to deposit another Rs. 1,000/-, so that the credit amount is not an issue and the mobile number is kept operational and remains undisturbed, especially in the midst of the present medical crises.

5.

Ms. Veena Ralli, the learned counsel for Airtel submits that possibly because of a problem in the SIM card, the number may not be linking up to the Airtel network.

6.

Looking at the nature of the petitioner's official responsibilities, his telephone number needs to be made operational immediately, otherwise emergency relief measures, public health and safety are likely to be affected adversely. The case was passed over for Ms Ralli ensure restoration of the telephone number as soon as possible. She has done her bit. In less than two hours she informs the Court that an agent of Airtel has already reached the residence/campus of the

petitioner with a replacement SIM card so that telephone services on the said number become operational immediately. 7.

It is expected that the issue will be sorted out between the parties in an hour or so. Should there be any difficulty, the learned counsel for the parties submit that they will speak to each other and ensure that the number of the petitioner-SDM is operational in the next couple of hours.

8.

The petition, alongwith pending application, is disposed-off in the above terms. In case of any difficulty, the parties are free to approach the Court.

9.

The order be uploaded on the website forthwith. Copy of the order be also forwarded to the counsel through email. NAJMI WAZIRI, J MAY 05, 2020/AB