New Delhi: The Supreme
Court today said that once posters are pasted outside the homes of COVID-19
patients, these people are treated as "untouchables", reflecting a
different "ground reality".
The Centre informed the top court
that although it has not prescribed this rule, the practice has nothing to do
with "stigmatising" COVID-19 patients as it is aimed at protecting
other people.
A bench of Justices Ashok
Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy and MR Shah said that the ground reality is
"something different" and as once such posters are pasted at their
homes, they are treated as untouchables.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta,
appearing for the Centre, said that some states on their own are pursuing this
practice to prevent the spread of the virus.
Tushar Mehta said the Centre has
filed its reply to the plea in pursuance of the top court's direction asking it
to consider issuing nationwide guidelines to do away with practice of pasting
posters outside the homes of COVID-19 patients.
"Let the counter filed by
Union come on record we will take it up on Thursday," the bench said.
The top court on November 5 had
asked the Centre to consider issuing the guidelines to do away with practice of
pasting posters outside the homes of COVID-19 patients.
It had directed so without
issuing any formal notice to the Centre on one Kush Kalra's plea seeking
framing of the guidelines.
The bench had observed that when
the Delhi government has agreed in the high court not to paste posters, why
cannot the Centre come up with guidelines dealing with the matter for the
entire country.
On November 3, the AAP government
had told the Delhi High Court that it has instructed all its officials not to
paste posters outside homes of COVID-19 positive persons or those in home
isolation; and the ones pasted have been ordered to be removed.
The government had told the high
court that its officials have also not been allowed to share details of
COVID-19 positive persons with their neighbours, resident welfare associations
or Whatsapp groups.
Mr Kalra, in his plea before the
high court, had contended that freely circulating to Resident Welfare
Associations (RWAs) and on Whatsapp groups, the names of persons who tested
positive for COVID-19 was "leading to stigmatisation and drawing of
unnecessary attention".
The petition had stated that
COVID-19 positive persons "ought to be given privacy to cope with and
recover from the illness in peace and away from prying eyes".
"Rather, they are being made
the centre of public attention..," it had said.
It had also claimed that this has
resulted in persons "shying away and deliberately choosing not to test
themselves" to shield themselves from the "public embarrassment and
stigmatisation" which is also caused by pasting posters outside homes of
COVID-19 positive patients.