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

Law for Fight against Health Emergencies

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

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 
Granting special powers to the State Governments to handle the situations in their respective
states and take preventive measures accordingly. 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. Advisories and directions of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare can be
enforced under Section 2 even if health is a State subject. It also 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.

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.

The Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020

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. This 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.
The main intention of this Ordinance was to bring legal protection to the healthcare personnel
and their property. Thus, this Ordinance specifies that:
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 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.
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.
i. 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.
ii. 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.

Other Legal Provisions

Apart from the Epidemic Disease Act, 1897 and The Epidemic Diseases (Amendment)
Ordinance, 2020, We also have some other germane legal provisions available which act
as imperative of strong legal architecture against epidemics and pandemic like
COVID-19. A careful Contemplation of other legal provisions is necessary, for making
well structured legal provisions to fight against these pandemics.
Some of these provisions include Section 269 and Section 270 of Indian Penal Code,
1860. These Sections are part of Chapter XIV of IPC. It contains provisions for offences
which affect the public health, safety, Morals, Decency and Convenience.
Section 269 states provisions for spreading and escalating of Infectious disease which are
hazardous to life by some negligent act. If a person is found liable under the same then
he/she will be subject to a punishment of either an imprisonment of maximum 6 month or
with fine or both.
Section 270 states that whoever with an deliberate intention or malignantly does anything
which results in spreading and escalation of a infectious disease can be subjected to a
punishment which include maximum imprisonment of 2 years or fine or both.
Both these sections are being used from a long time to punish those who disobey the
public order issued for the welfare of common masses amidst any pandemic or epidemic.
The strong use of these sections was seen during the time of most dangerous epidemics
like “Smallpox” and “Bubonic Plague”.
Recent use of these section include, In March 2018, it was stated by the health ministry
that if clinical establishments fails to inform the public health officers and Nodal Ministry
about a patient who is suffering from tuberculosis will be held liable under Section 269
and 270 because tuberculosis had been made a notifiable disease in India in 2012. The
use of these sections is quite evident in the light of the status quo amidst this pandemic;
 we see these sections are being used repeatedly for restricting the escalation of Corona
Virus.
In the similar way various section of Disaster Management Act, 2005 also plays a crucial
role amidst this pandemic. Provisions like Section 6 and 10 of DMA helped in
implementing a Nation-Wide uniform lockdown rules and regulations.

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.
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. 
Therefore, a proper legal architecture using all the bricks of existing legal system needed to be
looked upon in order to build a strong legal framework to not only fight against COVID 19 but
also prepare our legal system ready for any such future mishap.