New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Delhi government on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking direction to formulate new guidelines removing the requirement for pasting of posters outside houses or apartments of COVID-19 positive people or persons in home isolation.
A Division Bench of Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Subramonium Prasad asked Delhi government to file reply on the petition filed by Kush Kalra through his advocate Kush Sharma.
Petitioner Kalra has also sought a direction to the Delhi government to issue orders to its officials, employees, agent and representatives to desist from circulating names of COVID-19 positive people especially in Resident Welfare Associations (RWA), Whatsapp groups etc.
The petition said that pasting poster outside houses of people who test positive and are required to stay in home isolation is a serious infringement of the Fundamental Right to Privacy established by the Supreme Court. Besides, the names of people who test positive are being freely circulated to RWAs by officials of health department of the respondent which are in tum being circulated on RWA Whatsapp Groups, the petition said.
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Stressing that this is also leading to stigmatisation and drawing of unnecessary attention when in reality COVID-19 patients ought to be given privacy to recover from the illness in peace away from prying eyes, the petition said that "rather, they are being made the centre of public attention of over-inquisitive neighbours and busy-bodies in their colonies."
The petition also said that the process of publicising the names of COVID-19 positive people is turning out to be counterproductive. People are shying away and deliberately choosing not to test themselves to shield themselves from the public embarrassment and stigmatisation which is being caused by pasting posters outside homes and circulation of names of Covid-19 positive people to all and sundry, the petition said.
He also mentioned how Punjab has rescinded its earlier decision of putting posters outside the houses of COVID-19 patients under home isolation or quarantine to mitigate the stigma attached to the pandemic.
"This court ought to seriously consider these crucial aspects and decide upon the issue of pasting of posters for home isolation. Moreover, immediate directions are warranted from this Court to prevent the circulation of names of COVID-19 positive people in public," read the plea.
ANI report
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