The President has recently given his approval to an ordinance proposed to revise the Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897.
Amendments: The Highlights
1. Wider Inclusion: The revised Act is designed to protect health workers from public harassment. It will address harassment perpetrated by landlords and neighbours as well.
2. Cognizable and Non-bailable: With this amendment, violence against medical staff becomes a cognizable and non-bailable offence.
3. Compensation: The amended Act includes provisions for compensating healthcare personnel for injury or damage/loss to property.
4. Timely Investigation: Investigations involving attacks on healthcare workers will now be required to be completed within 30 days and a decision reached within one year.
5. Umbrella Protection: Under this ordinance, all healthcare fraternity members, including doctors, nurses and ASHA workers, are shielded from violence during epidemics.
6. Punishment: Penalties for attacks range from 3 months to 5 years and fines from ₹50,000 to ₹2 lakh. For severe cases involving grievous injuries, the punishment is 6 months to 7 years and the fine ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh.
Differentiating Between Cognisable and Non-Cognisable Offences
An officer can arrest a suspect without seeking a court’s warrant in cognizable offences. Offences like murder, rape, kidnapping, theft, dowry death etc. are generally considered cognizable. FIR is registered only in such crimes.
Non-Cognizable offences demand a warrant for the arrest of the accused and permission from the court to start an investigation. Offences such as forgery, cheating, defamation, public nuisance etc., fall under non-cognizable crimes.
Why was the Amendment Needed?
Healthcare workers were unfortunately being portrayed as potential spreaders of Covid-19. Instances of public abuse leading to harassment, assault, and property damage were becoming daily occurrences. The medical community was in dire need of protection.
Why Previous State Laws Were Not Sufficient
Several states had enacted special laws to protect doctors and other medical personnel in the past. However, these existing State laws lacked the necessary scope. They largely focussed on physical violence and did not adequately cover harassment at home or workplace. Also, the penal provisions under these laws were not stringent enough.
Understanding an Ordinance
An ordinance is a law promulgated by a state or national government without the consent of the legislature. The President has the power to promulgate ordinances when either of the two Houses of Parliament is not in session under Article 123 of the Constitution of India. There are three limitations to this power.
About the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897
The Epidemic Diseases Act, initially passed in February 1897 during a bubonic plague outbreak, aims to prevent the spread of Dangerous Epidemic Diseases. The amended Act empowers the state and central government to take special measures and prescribe regulations for public adherence to contain disease spread. Disobeying any regulation or order made under this Act is a punishable offence.
