GUEST POST – JOURNEY OF THE EPIDEMIC DISEASES ACT FROM 1987 TO 2020



INTRODUCTION

The basic purpose of the Constitution is to protect and inform its citizen by the way of laying down guidelines for making, enacting and implementing laws. As said by Professor Lynn Mather,

‘Law is not autonomous, standing outside the social world, but is deeply embedded within the society.’

 People develop the ideas of right and wrong, correct or incorrect, fair and unfair on the basis of the laws enacted by the state. The behaviour and actions of citizens depend on the time and situation they are faced with. With time, generations change, so should the laws.

Looking at the current situation, where the times have changed, The Epidemic Diseases Act, 1987 which was made hundred and twenty-three years ago does not fit into the society anymore.  

The political, economic, and social scenarios have transformed. The mindset of the people living in this socio-economic environment is a lot different from back then. There is a said phrase,

“That used to be considered as harmless prank, but times have changed, and now you could get arrested for the same.”

Thus, the pressing need to amend the law has been called out by its own users. In this article, first, we will understand the need and purpose of the Epidemic Diseases Act (‘the Epidemic Act’) itself.

Secondly, we will compare ‘The Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Bill, 2020’ which was recently passed by the Rajya Sabha and is to replace The Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 (‘the Ordinance’) passed in the month of April.

The Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 was promulgated on April 22, 2020. Since the existing laws turned out to be insufficient, the main aim of the Ordinance was to focus on increasing the protection of healthcare personnel, to protect them from the unfair practices carried out against them, as well as to multiply the powers of the Central Government to control the situation from worsening in the country and safeguard its citizen from deadly circumstances. 

 

PURPOSE OF ENACTMENT OF THE EPIDEMIC ACT, 1897

The Epidemic Act, 1897, colonial-era legislation, was first enacted to cope with the outbreak of bubonic plague which betided in Bombay.[1] During the British Raj, the law was established for containment of the epidemic by imposing certain restrictions and providing authority to the officials, up to some extent, in order to cease the further spread of the disease.[2]

The Bubonic Plague, also known as “The Black Death” had existed for more than a thousand years.[3] However, the first recorded case was in China in 224 B.C.E. It was also significant in Europe during the mid-fourteenth century.[4]

The first case in India was in September 1896 in Mandvi (Bombay), reported by Acacio Gabriel Viegas, a medical practitioner.[5] People were asked to stay indoors; massive cleaning operations were undertaken at that time. This had led to the formation of the Act. Back then the times had changed suddenly and something which wasn’t even considered suddenly became a necessity.  

 

PRECIS OF THE EPIDEMIC ACT

  1. Section 1 defines the territorial jurisdiction of the Act in various states in India. It excludes Part B; however, it was later amended to add the same.
  2. Section 2 states the power to make special measures and prescribe regulations in response to the dangerous epidemic disease. Here, if under some circumstances the State Government believes that the ordinary provisions of the law are not sufficient for the purpose, it can empower a person to take the necessary courses of action. A temporary regulation may be imposed on the public or a set of persons or a class of persons if it deems necessary to prevent the outbreak of diseases.
  3. Section 2A enumerates the powers of Central government in the times of epidemics. The Central Government is given the authority to take measures or prescribe regulations or inspections of any ship, vessel leaving or arriving at any port in the territory lying under the purview of the Act.
  4. Section 3 prescribes the penalty levied if the regulations of the Act are disobeyed by the persons on whom it is imposed. An offence is considered to be committed which is punishable under section 188 of the India Penal Code (45 of 1860).
  5. Section 4 provides protection to the persons authorized under the Act. No legal proceedings shall lie against the person for anything done in good faith or intended to be done under this Act.  

ENFORCEMENT OF THE ACT

This Act has been routinely enforced since 1897. It has been operated in India for the containment of various diseases, such as swine flu, cholera, malaria, and dengue.[6] In the year of 2009, the Act was put to force in the city of Pune to combat the swine flu. In 2015, it was utilized to deal with dengue and malaria in Chandigarh.[7] Again in 2018, the Act was enforced in the state of Gujarat to control the spread of cholera.[8]

More recently, in March 2020, the Act was enforced across the whole nation in order to limit the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus diseases.[9]

It is necessary to point out that the situation this time is a lot worse than it has ever been. This has, thus, called for rethinking of the Act. A little improvisation to the Act is necessary to handle the situation in a more precise manner. Hence, before we move further it is important to understand the current circumstances of the state of affairs.

 

‘PANDEMIC SITUATION’- CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS

What is a Pandemic- is the primary question, which first is needed to be addressed. The word ‘pandemic’ specifies a type of epidemic that the whole world is trying to fight against, in some way or the other. However, a concrete description was provided by ‘World Health Organisation’ (WHO) defined the situation-

“A pandemic is the worldwide spread of a new disease.”

To elaborate in detail, when a disease first emerges that is not known to have existed before, most of us lack the natural immunity required to fight against it. Sometimes this can cause a rapid spread of the disease between people and across different communities and even around the world.

India, in the month of April, recorded a total of 26,496 cases since the outbreak, out of which 19,732 were active cases and 5,939 were recovered cases.[10] Unfortunately, 824 patients succumbed to the disease.[11] The Act needed to be modified according to the 21st-century conditions. This emphasized the necessity of introducing an ordinance in the Parliament, which was passed as a Bill in Rajya Sabha in the month of September. 

 

REASONS FOR AMENDMENT TO THE EXISTING LEGISLATION

There were two major reasons for the Union Cabinet to approve the Epidemic Diseases (amendment) Ordinance, 2020, an Ordinance to amend the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897.

  1. It was observed amongst people across different age groups, that most of the people weren’t serious about the lockdown situation.[12] This clearly showed the lack of information amongst the general public. The Epidemic Act, 1897 doesn’t necessarily mandate the Government to provide complete knowledge of the current status.
  2. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in its press release dated April 22, 2020, said that, "…perceived as carriers of the diseases, there has been stigmatization and ostracization and sometimes worse, acts of unwarranted violence and harassment against our medical professionals. Such a situation tends to hamper the medical community from performing their duties to their optimum best and maintaining their morale, which is a critical need in this hour of national health crisis.”

Standing by the fact that the country has zero-tolerance for violence against medical practitioners, a need for an amendment was felt.

“Everyone was feeling sad and bad. That was the time the government thought of taking a proactive step. When the government reviewed, it found there were minimal laws and powers in some states. There was a need to have a central law to put in place a prohibitory mechanism to stop such activities,” said Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.[13]

The Act, thus, needed to be modified according to the 21st-century conditions. The necessity of introducing an ordinance in the Parliament was felt, which was subsequently passed as a Bill in Rajya Sabha in the month of September. 

Let us now look at the drawbacks of The Epidemic Act,1897 which are overcome by the "The Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Bill, 2020”.

ALTERATION IN QUONDAM ACT

The need of The Epidemic Act, 1897 was absolute. However, in the present context, its exact implementation is unnecessary. The Act in itself does not provide complete protection to the people under its scope. Hence, the amendments in the 2020 Bill is appreciated. These amendments will help the Government to overcome the lack of awareness amongst its citizens. For instance, at the outset, it is stated that ‘extending the application of the Act to whole of India’, unlike in the existing Act of 1897.  In addition to that, the Bill passed also defines the Sections of the Act in a slightly different manner.[14]

  • After Section 1 of the principal Act, Section 1A has been inserted, which states that “act of violence” includes acts committed by any person against a healthcare service personnel serving during an epidemic, which causes or may cause harassment, harm, injury, hurt, intimidation, danger to life, obstruction or hindrance, or loss/damage to any person or property under the custody of the healthcare personnel.
  • Amendments to Section 2A specifies that the Central Government can now not only inspect the vessels in the territories up to which the Act extends (now the whole of India), but may also inspect or detain any person intending to travel therein, or arriving thereby, as may be necessary.
  • Insertion of Section 2B prescribes the prohibition of violence against healthcare service personnel and damage to property, during an epidemic.
  • Protection Of Action Taken In Good Faith: According to the new amendment, no suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings shall lie against any person for anything which is done in good faith or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act or any Rule or Order made thereunder. (The High Court of Punjab and Haryana declared the Petition of “illegal detention under Quarantine” unmaintainable in the court).
  • Penalty - What Was Versus What Is: Section 3 deals with the punishment under the Act. There are a few major changes in Section 3 of the existing Act as it is not only amended but also sub-sections, Section 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, and 3E have been added.

I.   The changes brought in the section are- any person who commits or abets an act of violence or damage to the healthcare personnel or his property shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not less than six months, which may extend to seven years and with fine, where the fine levied shall not be less than one lakh rupees, extend to five lakh rupees.

II.    Section 3A states, on the commencement of the offences mentioned in the Section 3, the following things must be followed-

  • it shall be a cognizable and non-bailable offence;
  • no police officer holding the rank below Inspector has been given the authority to investigate;
  • the investigation of the case shall be completed within 30 days of the First Information Report (FIR); and
  • the trial of the case must be concluded within one year and if not, the judge has to present valid reasons for the delay in writing, that too not exceeding 6 months.

III. Section 3B states that, any person who is prosecuted under the offence can be compounded by the person against whom the act of violence was committed, only with the permission of Court.

IV.  Section 3C commands that if a person grievously hurts the healthcare personnel and if it fulfills the criteria of Section 320 under Indian Penal Code, then the offender shall be held liable unless the contrary is proved. 

V.   Section 3D presumes the culpable mental state (which includes, intention, motive or knowledge of a fact) of the offender. Only under a reasonable doubt will the offender shall not be prosecuted.

VI.  Section 3E states the compensation for acts of violence- i) the convicted person shall be liable to reimburse by the amount to which healthcare personnel is grievously hurt, as determined by the Court; ii) the compensation to damage or loss of property of the healthcare personnel may go as high up as double the market value of the property; iii) In case of, failure of payment of compensation, such amount shall be recovered from the arrear of land revenue under the Revenue Recovery Act, 1890. 

OPPOSITION AGAINST THE BILL

Even though the Bill may seem flawless, it cannot be completely filtered from its objections.

For example- According to a Congress Party leader, Adhir Chowdhury, the Bill was rushed to be implemented. There were certain changes which needed to be reviewed. As the saying goes, “haste makes waste.” He said:

“I would request the government to send the bill to the standing committee and a comprehensive legislation should be brought in.” [15]

Under the Bill, there is an amendment which presumes the accused to be guilty of the offence until unless it is proven otherwise by the defendant. Chowdhury added that this was in complete deviation from the principles of the country’s legal code.

However, in response to this, the Health Minister replied,

“our government from the last 3-4 years is working on a National Public Health Act to comprehensively deal with issues related to biological emergencies”[16]

Hence, it was concluded that the Ordinance will not withstand such repeal and will be enacted or taken under the corresponding provisions of the said Act as amended by this Act.

CONCLUSION

In my opinion, the amendments brought in the Bill are stricter in nature which is necessary in the current times. The nature of the modifications favours the people who are risking their lives for the society. It not only protects them from exploitation but also promises heavy compensation in case it happens. The speedy trial rules are just cherry on the top!

However, the Act is not a bed of roses. Unlike the Draft PHPCM of Epidemics, Bio- Terrorism and Disasters Bill, the Epidemic Act does not define terms such as ‘isolation’, ‘quarantine’ and so on. Thus, it fails to educate the masses about these new concepts, which is essential in the current situation.

It should therefore be kept in mind,

“The law is important for a society for it serves as a norm of conduct for citizens. The law is important because it acts as a guideline as to what is accepted in society. Without it there would be conflicts between social groups and communities. It is pivotal that we follow them.”

Similarly, according to Merriam and Webster,

 “An amendment is essentially a correction. It comes in many varieties, up to and including the process of altering something through either parliamentary or constitutional procedure.”

The above sayings and the entire article make it quite clear for the need, importance and necessity of amendments in the existing law. It plays a major role and helps in coping up with the society.

Finally, one must remember that no law is exact but amendments are what keep it alive in society.

By

Aayushi Sheth,

II B.A. LL.B.

Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Gujarat.

References

1. S. 188, Indian Penal Code, 1860.

2. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amendment

3. The public health (prevention, control and management of epidemics, bio-terrorism and disasters) bill, 2017.

4. What Is a Pandemic?, available at https://www.healthline.com/health/what-is-a-pandemic#pandemic-defined , last seen on 8/10/2020.

5. The Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897.

6. Parliament proceedings | Lok Sabha passes Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Bill, The Hindu (22/09/2020), available at https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/parliament-proceedings-lok-sabha-passes-epidemic-diseases-amendment-bill/article32664074.ece, last seen on 8/10/2020.


[1] Saurav Kumar Rai, How the Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897 Came to Be, The Wire(2/04/2020), available at https://thewire.in/history/colonialism-epidemic-diseases-act , last seen on 8/10/2020.

[2] Ibid.

[3] David Perlin, Ph.D., & Ann Cohen, Epidemics of the Past: Bubonic Plague, InfoPlease, available at https://www.infoplease.com/math-science/health/diseases/epidemics-of-the-past-bubonic-plague, last seen on 8/10/2020.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Kalpish Ratna, The chilling discovery: when the plague came to Bombay in 1896, Scroll.in (11/12/2014), available at https://scroll.in/article/694177/the-chilling-discovery-when-the-plague-came-to-bombay-in-1896, last seen on 8/10/2020.

[6] Explained: With lockdown on, what you need to know about the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, Indian Express (23/03/2020), available at https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/coronavirus-outbreak-janata-curfew-1897-epidemic-diseases-act-6326984/, last seen on 8/10/2020.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Total case count reaches 26,496 with 824 fatalities, Outlook India (26/04/2020), available at https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/total-case-count-reaches-26496-with-824-fatalities/1814895, last seen on 8/10/2020.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Carelessness leading to rise in Covid-19 cases: Experts, Times of India, available at

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/77833756.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst , last seen on 30/08/2020.

[13] Parliament passes bill to punish those attacking healthcare workers, Outlook India (22/09/2020),  available at https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/parliament-nod-to-two-bills-related-to-indian-medicine-council-and-homeopathy-central-council/1940377?scroll, last seen on 08/10/2020.

[14] The Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Act, 2020.

[15] Parliament proceedings | Lok Sabha passes Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Bill, The Hindu (22/09/2020), available at https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/parliament-proceedings-lok-sabha-passes-epidemic-diseases-amendment-bill/article32664074.ece, last seen on 8/10/2020.

[16] Ibid.

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