Cuttack: In an important verdict, Orissa High Court Friday said that the identity of COVID-19 infected persons can be made public with consent of the patient’s family members.
Hearing a PIL filed by a man named Ananga Otta, a division bench of Orissa High Court comprising of Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq and Justice Satrughana Pujahari said the identity of both COVID infected persons and those who have died of it can be made public, albeit with prior approval from the family of the patient.
Also read: Orissa HC directs govt to conceal identity of COVID-19 patients, suspects
In its ruling, the court urged media to exercise restraint while publishing names of those infected with the deadly disease. Besides, it called for the public to be sensitive towards the needs of the patients.
It may be mentioned here that petitioner Otta had moved the top court seeking action against people who made public identities of 13 COVID-19 infected persons from Kendrapara district.
Responding to the Court’s notice in this regard, the state government had assured the court to take action against culprits.
The state government emulates the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) model code that discourages against revealing the identities of the patients. The ICMR-led system has been adopted to protect the patients from social stigma associated with the disease.
PNN
