mumbai the aurangabad bench of bombay high court on may 12 questioned why a minister held several functions with his physical attendance during the ongoing covid19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions in placewe are called upon today to face a peculiar and weird situation regarding peoples representative politicians and ministers flouting lockdown restrictions and conducting public functions physically and that too by making a farce of appeals to the public not to attend such a physical function said the hc bench of of justices r v ghuge and b u debadwar while hearing a suo motu pil on covid measures the hc directed that these respected representatives of the citizens should not conduct physical ceremonies and functions these include inauguration of any constituency development program bhoomi pujan felicitationsthe hc bench said we are also pained to note that minister sandipan bhumrecabinet minister for egs and horticulture government of maharashtra has physically held ceremonies in his constituencythe hc asked is the politician not duty bound to obey the cms instructions the cm has in the interest of the public at large appealed to the common man as well as the peoples representatives to refrain from holding ceremonies and functions physically the hc noteddo we not realize that the citizens of our country gather in large numbers when peoples representatives make a physical presence for an inauguration ceremony or a bhumipujan ceremony asked the judgesif crowds gather despite politicians request not to then is the law enforcement machinery not failing in its duty questioned the benchwe are surprised that the voters of a minister in his own paithan constituency do not listen to him and are not willing to follow the lockdown restrictions the bench observed in its orderthe hc which added we find that the world is unable to control covid only by increasing beds oxygen ventilators icu wards and medicines such are necessary steps and methods to cure patients the long lasting inexpensive and quick solution is physical distancing wearing of masks and maintaining high level of hygiene in such testing and unprecedented times it is the behaviour of the people which would decide the growth of the pandemic also noted that when the cm was working untiringly and has appealed to the entire state to maintain physical distancing would his appeal not bind the ministers would heavens fall if such programs are postponed in the light of clause 10 of the break the chain order asked the hc the clause bars even political functions from being held during the restrictionseven agitations and morchas are prohibited said the hcthe bench said we have repeatedly said in our earlier orders that we all have a common enemy who is a virus originating from wuhan unseen to the naked eye and having the potential of wiping out a population is it that the lockdown restrictions and orders passed by the court in the interest of public health bind only the common man and honble politicians are above the law it asked is it