Australian judge upholds temporary ban on Indian travel

An Australian judge has rejected a challenge to a temporary COVID-19 ban on citizens returning from India

SYDNEY -- An Australian judge on Monday rejected a challenge to a temporary COVID-19 ban on citizens returning from India. The government imposed the Indian travel ban on April 30 to relieve pressure on quarantine facilities for returned international travelers. The ban will be lifted on Friday when a government-chartered plane is expected to repatriate 150 of the 9,000 Australians in India who want to come home. Federal Court Justice Tom Thawley dismissed the first two parts of a four-pronged challenge to the ban initiated by 73-year-old Australian Gary Newman who has been stranded since March last year in the Indian city of Bangalore. The second two parts are based on constitutional grounds so require more notice for a court hearing than Newman’s application last week for an urgent hearing allowed.