Aarogya Setu not must for air, train travel: Union govt tell Karnataka HC

BENGALURU: The Union government on Friday informed the Karnataka high court that Aarogya Setu app is optional — and not mandatory — for air and train travel as its latest guidelines in this regard are advisory in nature.
It informed the court that if a traveller does not have the app, he/she can fill a self-declaration form and travel. The present guidelines were made amending earlier guidelines and a memo in this regard was submitted to the court. Taking the memo on record, a division bench headed by Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka adjourned the hearing to July 10 to consider the legal issues raised in a PIL it is hearing.
Centre asked to file objections to PIL
The Centre has been directed to file objections to the PIL’s other contentions that Aarogya Setu cannot be introduced without the mandate of law and whether the state and Centre can make the app mandatory for citizens to avail government services.
The PIL has been filed by Anivar A Aravind, a Bengaluru resident, who claims to be a digital rights activist associated with a Delhi NGO. He contended that the Aarogya Setu protocol violates right to privacy and other fundamental rights. He claimed there is no law mandating use of the app.