Amendment in The Epidemic Diseases Act 1897 : The Imperative of a Holistic

Law for Fight against Health Emergencies

Introduction
COVID-19, the invisible killer, has put the world through unexpected ways of life. It has been
months and, the old normal is beyond question while the virus still exists among us, and many
countries are still in the quest of a vaccine. The current situations have affected every aspect of
life and every sector of the economy. The legal aspect for all this is essential even during the
pandemic. All measures taken to control the spread of the virus needs to be followed lawfully.
Thus, the provision that plays an important role during these situations is the Epidemic Act,
1897. This provision aims to provide preventive measures that will be enforced during epidemic
and pandemics in order to minimize the spread of threatening diseases. 

The Epidemic Act, 1897: An Outlook

The Epidemic Diseases Bill was initially introduced in 1897 to control the spread of bubonic
plague in Mumbai (Bombay). It was bought into existence to tackle various issues in India then,
such as the over-crowded houses and unsanitary hygiene. The brief details on this provision have
been mentioned below:
 Section 1 describes the title of the Act (The Epidemic Act, 1897) and says that it is
applicable in the whole of India.
 Section 2 provides details on special measures that can be enforced during health
emergencies, that includes 
i. Granting special powers to the State Governments to handle the situations in their
respective states and take preventive measures accordingly 
ii. It also gives the State right to make regulations for the inspections of persons
traveling through public transport and for the segregation of hospitals and
temporary accommodations for the infected people. 
 Section 2A provides powers to the Central Government to take preventive measures to
control the spread.  
i. Advisories and directions of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare can be
enforced under Section 2 even if health is a State subject. 
ii. It gives the Government right to inspect any ship that arrives or leaves any post
and also the power to detain any person intending to sail or arriving in the
country.
 Section 3 includes Penalties for disobedience during the epidemic that was set according
to Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code. 
 Section 4 provides legal protection to the law implementing officers.  
It was not the only time in 1897 that this act was enforced later there were many emergencies
when The ED Act was implicated, such as, Section 2 which was empowered during the Swine
flu spread in Pune, 2009; Chandigarh in 2015 due to Malaria and Dengue outbreak.1

The Epidemic Act of 1897 was structured as per the requirements, 123 years ago and was
effective in those times of epidemic. But today when our population has grown to an ample
amount, increasing the complications and with an active deadly virus such as the COVID-19,
unquestionably calls for the development and amendments of this Act. Thus, The Epidemic
Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, was propagated on April 22, 2020. It was an
amendment to the Act of 1897, which included important changes and amends according to the
current issues faced in public. The revision of the same has been mentioned below:

 The Ordinance defines healthcare service personnel as a person who is at risk of

contracting the epidemic disease while carrying out duties related to the epidemic. They
include: (i) public and clinical healthcare providers such as doctors and nurses, (ii) any
person empowered under the Act to take measures to prevent the outbreak of the disease,
and (iii) other persons designated as such by the state government. 
    
 The amendment ensures to mention and describe the ‘act of violence’ towards healthcare
service personnel. Which includes:
i. Harassment affecting healthcare personnel’s personal and work lives. 
ii. Any kind of harm, injury, hurt, or danger to their life.
iii. Imposing any kind of hindrances in the discharge of their duties.
iv. Causing loss or damage to the property or documents of the healthcare service
personnel. Where, Property is defined to include a: clinical establishment,
quarantine facility, mobile medical unit, and other property in which healthcare
service personnel have a direct interest, concerning the epidemic.

 The new amendment also includes more powers to the Central Government as before
they had the right to inspect any ship or vessel leaving or arriving at any port, and to
detain any person intending to travel from the port, during an outbreak. The amendment
now expands the powers of the central government to inspect any bus, train, goods
vehicle, ship, vessel, or aircraft leaving or arriving at any land port, port, or aerodrome.
Further, the central government may also regulate the detention of any person intending
to travel by these means.

1
In-Depth: Epidemic Diseases Act, DRISHTIIAS, (May 08, 2020),https://www.drishtiias.com/loksabha-rajyasabha-
discussions/in-depth-epidemic-diseases-act
  The main intention of this Ordinance was to bring legal protection to the healthcare
personnel and their property. Thus, this Ordinance specifies that:
i. Commission or aim to commit an act of violence against a healthcare service
personnel, or loss to any property during an epidemic is punishable with
imprisonment between three months and five years, and a fine between Rs 50,000
and two lakh rupees. This offense can be compounded, by the victim with the
permission of the Court. In case an act of violence against a healthcare service
personnel causes grievous harm, the person committing the offense will be
punishable with imprisonment between six months and seven years, and a fine
between one lakh rupees and five lakh rupees. These offenses are cognizable and
non-bailable.
ii. In cases of compensation, the persons convicted of offenses under this provision
will be liable to pay compensation decided by the Court and if the damage is
caused to a property then the amount of compensation, to the victim will be twice
the amount of the fair market value of the damaged or lost property, as
determined by the Court and if the convicted person fails to pay the
compensation, the amount shall be recovered as an arrear of land revenue under
the Revenue Recovery Act, 1890.
iii. The investigation for the cases registered under this provision will be done by
police officers, not below the rank of Inspector, and it also particularly states that
the investigation must be completed within 30 days from the date of registration
of the First Information Report. Similarly, the trial or inquiry for the case must be
settled within one year. If not, the Judge must record the reasons for the delay and
extend the period, but the time period may not be extended for more than six
months at a time.
iv. During the prosecution of a person who has caused grievous harm to healthcare
service personnel, the Court will presume that person is guilty of the offense
unless the contrary is proved.2

Conclusion

Today, India is highly developed, in its pattern of living lives and, amidst this pandemic, an
amendment of the 123-year-old Epidemic Act of 1897 was essential to deal with the situations in
those past times but not now, as our country grows so, does its need for more lawful provisions.
Though the current Ordinance has bought vital changes to the lives and properties of healthcare
service personnel there were certainly more reforms required in the amendment, as it is a very
short provision with only 4 Sections that do not even specify the definition of Epidemic itself.
2
The Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, PRS INDIA, (Apr. 22, 2020),
https://www.prsindia.org/billtrack/epidemic-diseases-amendment-ordinance-2020
The Ordinance mentions all the details regarding how it empowers the State or the Central
Government yet the rights of the common public during such critical times is nowhere to be
seen, as the provision has been improved, according to the need of the hour but not all the
necessary legal aspects of the citizens, in particular, were attained.