BackEpidemic Act: What the 123-year-old law means in times of COVID-19
The government can impose the Act if it thinks that ordinary provisions are insufficient to contain an epidemicUnder the Act, the government can fine people or imprison them for violating rules and regulations
PremiumNEW DELHI: The Centre recently invoked provisions of the Epidemic Act, 1897 to combat the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
Whenever there is an outbreak of an epidemic, the government can impose the Act if it thinks that ordinary provisions of the law, which are in force, are insufficient to contain an epidemic.
The Act empowers a person to take certain measures and prescribe temporary regulations to prevent the outbreak of a disease or its spread.
The provisions of the Act state that the government can fine people or imprison them for violating rules and regulations, set to contain the outbreak. Section 3 of the Act says any person disobeying any regulation or order made under this Act shall be deemed to have committed an offence punishable under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code.
The Act was brought into force before Independence to control plague in the late 1800s that killed thousands of people.
As per the Section 4, no suit or legal proceeding shall be held against any person who acts in good faith to serve the purpose of the Act.
India's count of confirmed cases of COVID-19 crossed the 200-mark on Friday, while the global death toll has surpassed 10,000.
The health ministry, however, in its update has confirmed 195 cases in the country, with 20 recoveries and four deaths.
Since the outbreak first emerged in China's Wuhan in December, over 244,000 people globally have been affected by the novel coronavirus infection, with death toll at 10,031 and recoveries at 86,000.
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