Protecting privacy of people is important and it is all the more so when it comes to health matters.
The Bombay High Court on Friday sought to know why should the names of persons who have tested positive for Covid-19 be disclosed and said the issue involves privacy rights of such patients.
A division bench of Justices A A Sayed and M S Karnik made the observation while hearing a petition filed by two persons seeking disclosure of names of coronavirus patients to enable contact tracing and save others from getting infected.
The public interest litigation has been filed by a law student, Vaishnavi Gholave, and a farmer from Solapur, Mahesh Gadekar. It said when the fundamental right to life and right to lead a healthy life clash with the fundamental right to privacy, then the court needs to see which of these rights would advance public morality and interest.
“How far can one go in revealing the identity of the person who has tested positive? Privacy rights are involved. The authorities declare a particular place or building as a containment zone when someone tests positive so that people are made aware”, Justice Sayed said. Isnt this enough? Why do you want to know who is the person who has tested positive? the bench queried.
The court also sought the Maharashtra government’s response to the petition. Advocate Aditya Thakkar, appearing for the Union government, submitted that as per the guidelines issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the names of COVID-19 positive persons cannot be declared so as to avoid their stigmatisation.
Vinod Sangvikar, counsel of the petitioners, however, argued that the ICMR guidelines extended only to those who have died due to Covid-19.
The bench posted the petition for further hearing after two weeks and directed the
Maharashtra government to respond to the plea. Paramount importance should be given to protection of privacy, at a time when people show discrimination against Covid-19 patients.