Uttarakhand makes provision for 6 months' jail term for flouting Covid-19 norms

DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand governor Baby Rani Maurya has given assent to the Uttarakhand Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance 2020 to amend the Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897. After Kerala and Odisha, Uttarakhand has become the third state in the country to give assent to the amendment ordinance.
With amendments in two provisions, those flouting Covid-19 norms in the state can now be sent to jail for up to six months or (and) be fined Rs 5,000.
On March 14 this year, the Uttarakhand government had declared Coronavirus outbreak as an epidemic in the Himalayan state. Following this, the state government brought the Uttarakhand Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance 2020 to make amendments to the Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897.
The amendments were made in sections 2 and 3 of the Act to give the state the power to impose a fine or arrest a person for not wearing a face mask, not maintaining social distancing, flouting quarantine norms, and other such violations of Covid-19 guidelines.
Sources said that the imprisonment provision — for a term of one month to six months — has been included in the Act under section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code.