Police, Protective Gears And The Pandemic

The human race is trying to wade off the coronavirus pandemic by trying to live through the old age adage of 'prevention is better than cure' by practicing social distancing. The raison d'être for the same is no known medicine for battling the Covid-19 virus. As a result of which, the Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a nation-wide lockdown on March 24th which has been extended till May 3rd for the time being. The Corona warriors are at the forefront of this battle against the invisible enemy. Along with the health professionals and sanitation workers, it is the men in khaki who are at the forefront of this Armageddon.  

In the light of such untoward incidences, it is of utmost importance to observe that many dormant statutes such as Epidemic Diseases Act 1897, Disaster Management Acts 2005 etc. were put into action all across the country. These statutory provisions escalate the accountability as well as the responsibility on the Union government especially Ministry of Home Affairs (hereinafter referred to as MHA) to “prescribe regulations as to dangerous epidemic disease.”

Moreover, Section 2 of the Epidemic Disease Act 1897 states defines the power of the government as “… if it thinks that the ordinary provisions of the law for the time being in force are insufficient for the purpose, may take, or require or empower any person to take, such measures and, by public notice, prescribe such temporary regulations to be observed by the public or by any person or class of persons as it shall deem necessary to prevent the outbreak of such disease or the spread thereof, and may determine in what manner and by whom any expenses incurred (including compensation if any) shall be defrayed… ”

The mantle to put these restrictions and ensure social distancing befalls on the most visible arm of the State, the Police force. Section 22 of the Indian Police Act 1861 establishes a responsibility upon the police personnel's to be on a 24/7 duty. However, in many states, the cops on the ground ensuring the lockdown and the law order are working without adequate protective gears i.e. Masks, gloves, goggles and coveralls/gowns, and the same has been reported in the press without much attention to the same being paid by the State governments. The unsafe working conditions have the potential of resulting in the police officials contracting chronic or acute diseases or suffering health injuries as has been seen in Indore, Ludhiana, Kanpur, etc. Four policemen have lost their lives to Covid-19 (one in Ludhiana two in Ujjain and another in Indore), more than 1000's others have caught the infection (49 in Maharashtra, 22 in Delhi, 24 in Gujarat, 59 in Madhya Pradesh, two in Uttar Pradesh), while others show symptoms (over 100 in UP).

The Hon'ble Supreme court in Avishek Goenka vs. Union of India & Anr. Has held that “whatever are the rights of an individual, they are regulated and controlled by the statutory provisions of the Act and the Rules framed there under. The citizens at large have a right to life i.e. to live with dignity, freedom and safety. This right emerges from of the Constitution of India…”

Although we must acknowledge that The Central Government had announced an insurance cover worth Rs- 50 lakh for healthcare and municipal workers who may contract the coronavirus while on duty, no such scheme has been announced by the Union government for the police personals who are working 24×7 ensuring the lockdown. 

It is a scathing situation, where different state governments have announced nominal/negligible compensation that will be awarded to police personnel in case he suffers any ailment due to the corona pandemic. This not only violates the Right to Life of the police officials and the public to whom he/she is serving as enshrined under Article 21 but also violates Article 14 of our Constitution, which imposes a positive duty on the state to provide equal protection of law to everyone within the territory of India.  

As stated earlier by virtue of Police Act 1861, all the police officials across the country and irrespective of their states are performing the same duty with the same level of dedication and commitment. Moreover, the Ministry of Home Affairs is the cadre controlling of the Indian Police Service and is responsible for the internal security of India. Although a few state governments i.e. Delhi, Uttar Pradesh etc have given a common minimum insurance cover for their police officials i.e. Rs-50 lakh. Ironically, on the other hand, more than 20 state governments have either not given an insurance cover at all to their respective police officials or the cover is 90% less than the insurance cover given by some state governments. Following is a list of a few governments who have cut short their constitutional, statutory as well as moral responsibilities towards the frontline heroes of this country:

Uttarakhand - Insurance cover of Rs. 4 lakhs

West Bengal - Insurance cover of Rs. 10 lakhs

Haryana - Insurance cover of Rs. 30 lakhs

Odisha- No Insurance cover given

Gujarat- Insurance cover of Rs. 25 lakhs

Bihar- No Insurance cover given

Himachal Pradesh- No Insurance cover given

Jammu and Kashmir- No Insurance cover given

Andhra Pradesh- No Insurance cover given

Mizoram- No Insurance cover given

Meghalaya - No Insurance cover given

Nagaland- No Insurance cover given

Tripura- No Insurance cover given

Manipur- No Insurance cover given

Arunachal Pradesh- No Insurance cover given

Although it is an established fact that every state has its separate police force but the life of every cop fighting the coronavirus is on the same pedestal. Further, it is pertinent to note that, though the Constitution of India has mandated ‘Police’ and ‘Public order’ to be State list subjects there are certain provisions in the Constitution, which empower the Central Government to intervene in some situations or perform special functions in police matters. Article 355 imposes a duty on the Union government to protect the states against internal disturbances and to ensure that the governance of every state is carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.

In light of the unpreceded crisis which is being fought by the cops on the ground across the country, it is hoped that the Government ensures proper protective gears for the frontline policemen and also frames uniform guidelines for awarding compensation to cops who suffer harm or casualty while being in the line of duty.