24 November,2020 12:15 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Bombay High Court
A city-based lawyer Harshal Mirashi moved the Bombay high court challenging the constitutional validity of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, and sought a direction to forthwith stop its enforcement. The move comes a week after the Supreme Court refused to entertain Harshal's petition and asked him to approach the high court.
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According to a report in Hindustan Times, Mirashi believes that COVID-19 is nothing more than a cough and cold that has been blown out of proportion by "certain elements" to make an undue profit by instilling fear in people's minds.
The lawyer is against the forced use of mask and quarantine, which he believes amounts to the deprivation of liberty of citizens. The lawyer calls quarantine a breach of the fundamental rights that cause psychological issues.
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In his plea, Harshal has contended that the 1897 law infringes on fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution. He has blamed the erratic enforcement of the Epidemic Diseases Act for threatening the rights.
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