Legal Control of Covid-19 Pandemic and National Lockdown in India

The legal control of COVID-19 pandemic during two month’s national lockdown in India derives its sustenance from Article 47 and Entry 29 of the seventh schedule of the Constitution of India, 1950. The controlling mechanism administered through the vintage law contained under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Epidemic Diseases Act), 1897. India witnessed COVID-19 infection in the states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Delhi. They account for two-thirds of India’s total cases surpassing Wuhan of Hubei province in China. On the legal front, the COVID-19 pandemic invented an innovative strategy under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 by the legitimate assumption of catastrophe and calamity. The implementation of quarantine law spearheaded the security of health professions as a significant problem. The public health reform discerned into Presidential promulgation of Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020. The socio-economic fall out of the COVID-19 pandemic and consequent lockdown calls for judicial intervention to meet the goals of health care and equity. The paper examines the comparative case studies for testing the legitimacy of quarantine law enforcement. It delves deep into the Indian Supreme Court decisions in meeting the contemporary challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in the framework of public health law reform in India.