New Delhi: Wearing a mask while driving alone in a private vehicle is mandatory in the context of COVID-19, the Supreme Court in Delhi said on Wednesday, describing the face mask as a ‘suraksha kavach’, or protective shield, against the spread of the infection.
Judge Prathiba M Singh also refused to interfere with the Delhi government’s decision to impose challans because they did not wear a mask while driving alone with a private car, saying that a vehicle is a public place if it is occupied by one person.
Wearing a mask in it is mandatory in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, ”the court said. Masks are needed, regardless of whether someone is vaccinated or not, he added.
Justice Singh’s ruling and remarks came when he rejected four petitions from lawyers who had instituted ‘challans’ because they were not wearing a mask, driving alone in a private vehicle.
‘Wearing a mask is like a’ suraksha kavach ‘to spread COVID-19, ”The court said, noting that a mask protects the person wearing it and also those exposed to him or her.
Wearing a face mask was a measure that ‘saved millions of lives’ during the pandemic.
As advocates and advocates, the plaintiffs must ‘recognize and assist in the implementation of the measures to limit the spread of the pandemic, instead of questioning its legality’, the court said.
Compliance with the measures by attorneys will encourage the general public to comply with them as well.
During the proceedings, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, represented by lawyer Farman Ali Magray, told the court that he had not instructed people to wear masks in a car when they were alone.
The ministry said health was a state issue and that the government of Delhi had to decide on it.
The Delhi government has told the court that wearing masks while driving an official or personal vehicle in April last year is mandatory through an office order and that it remains in force.
It also said that a private vehicle by the Supreme Court was a public place.
Source: Telangana Today