The petitioner brought up concerns about a majority of the citizens living in areas that are in high risk for earthquakes, citing that nearly three quarters of the Indians reside in areas deemed as highly prone to seismic activity.
Supreme Court of India (Photo: IANS)
The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea that had raised concerns about 75 per cent of India’s population being situated in high seismic zones and how the court should mandate measures to safeguard the citizens against earthquake risks.
In a mix of wit and pragmatism, a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta questioned the litigant, “So we should relocate everyone to the moon or where?” subtly expressing skepticism over the feasibility of proposed solutions.
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The petitioner brought up concerns about a majority of the citizens living in areas that are in high risk for earthquakes, citing that nearly three quarters of the Indians reside in areas deemed as highly prone to seismic activity.
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However, the bench did not entertain the petition and clarified that policies regarding earthquake safety, building codes and disaster preparedness fall under the government’s domain that must be addressed by the Executive and the relevant authorities and not through judicial directives.
International comparisons, including Japan’s recent earthquake preparedness, was also referred to during the course of the hearing, but the court remarked that such comparisons cannot dictate India’s policy. They even commented, “First we have to bring volcanoes into this country, then we can compare it with Japan.”
The bench also struck down reliance on media reports noting, “These are newspaper reports. We are not bothered about them.”
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