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March 26, 2020

India: Violation of MHA Guidelines Corona Lockdown 'places of worship shall be closed for public' why no action against Adityanath

Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2020 at 08:58
Subject: (napmap) Violation of MHA Guidelines issued by NDMA under Section 6(2)(1) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005- Request action
To: , , , Preeti Sudan


E.A.S.Sarma
14-40-4/1 Gokhale Road
Maharanipeta
Visakhapatnam 530002
Mobile: 91-9866021646
Email: eassarma[at]gmail.com

To

Shri A K Bhalla
Union Hoe Secretary

Dear Shri Bhalla,

I refer to your Ministry's Order No. 40-3/2020-D dated 24-3-2020 in which the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has invoked its powers under Section 6(2)(1) of Disaster Management Act, 2005 and imposed several restrictions on the activities of the citizens to prevent the spread of Corona Virus. Annexure to that Order has listed out the Guidelines for the restrictions in an unambiguous manner.

I have enclosed both the Order and the Guidelines for your ready reference.

The following news report suggests that Shri Yogi Adityanath, the Chief Minister of UP had organised a religious event in which he had personally participated along with several others and installed the idol of Sri Rama at the Ayodhya premises, a few hours after the above cited MHA Order No. 40-3/2020-D dated 24-3-2020 came into force.

https://thewire.in/politics/coronavirus-yogi-adityanath-lockdown-ram-navami-ayodhya

It appears from the news report and the pictures shown therein that there were several persons along with Shri Adityanath at the religious event referred. Apparently, the requirement of "social distancing", so crucial for preventing the spread of the virus, had also not been complied with.

Organising such a religious event involving a congregation of several persons, in my view, contravenes the MHA Order cited.

Item 9 of the Guidelines states as follows.

"All places of worship shall be closed for public. No religious congregations will be permitted without any exception"

In addition, the above mentioned event in UP also attracts Items 10 and 17 of the Guidelines, extracted below,


"10 All ocial/ political/ sports/ entertainment/ academic/ cultural/ religious functions/ gatherings shall be barred


17 Any person violating these containment measures will be liable to be proceeded against as per the provisions of Sections 51 to 60 of the Disaster Management act, 2005, besides legal action under Section 188 of the IPC”


I find that several States have been invoking powers under the Disaster Management Act and taking stringent action against those contravening the lockdown restrictions. For example, the following news report referred to the Tamil Nadu government taking such action against those violating the restrictions.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/coronavirus-tn-police-start-invoking-disaster-management-act-for-violating-restrictions/article31098017.ece


In this connection, I have enclosed here a copy of my letter dated 24-302020 addressed to the Prime Minister, which is self explanatory.


Strict enforcement of the MHA Order cited is important for preventing any further spread of Corona Virus.


In my view, taking penal action against all those who violate the MHA Order, irrespective of their status, is necessary to reinforce the credibility of the action taken by your Ministry to impose a nationwide lockdown in order to contain the community transmission of the virus. Exemptions and relaxations will not only be illegal but they will also upset the principle that there should be no discrimination whatsoever in the application of the law of the land.


I hope that your Ministry will respect the letter and the spirit of the MHA Order No.40-3/2020-D dated 24-3-2020 and take urgent action in this matter.


Regards,


Yours sincerely,


E A S Sarma

Former Secretary to GOI

Visakhapatnam

26-3-2020