Mumbai: Observing that privacy rights are involved, the Bombay High Court on Friday sought to know if it would be necessary to disclose the names of persons, who have tested Covid positive. The HC was dealing with a plea seeking disclosure of the names of Covid patients so that people are aware as to who is infected or not.
A bench of Justices Amjad Sayed and Makarand Karnik noted that the authorities were already declaring containment zones or areas, making citizens aware that a patient lived in the specific area.
The PIL filed by a law student through advocate Vinod Sangvikar argued that the court must decide if the fundamental right to a healthy life is more important or the right to privacy. The plea claimed that it was mandatory to disclose the names as it would help citizens understand and protect themselves from transmission.
Taking note of the contentions, Justice Sayed said, "How fare can one go in revealing the identity of the person, who has tested Covid positive? We must consider the fact that privacy rights are involved in this issue."
The bench took into account the fact that the authorities were putting up banners of containment zones or areas outside the buildings or residence of the infected patients. "This is done to make people aware that a patient has been detected in that area," Justice Sayed said, adding, "Isn't this enough? Why do you want to know who is the person who has tested positive?" Justice Sayed questioned.
During the hearing, the counsel appearing for the Union government informed the judges that the ICMR guidelines specifically disallow disclosing the names of patients. "This is to curtail any possibility of stigmatization of these patients," the counsel submitted.
The contention was disputed by Sangvikar arguing that the guidelines bar disclosing names of only those who die due to Covid 19 and not all the patients.
Having heard the contention, Justice Sayed ordered the state as well as union governments to file their say in the matter, within two weeks.
