HC seeks Centre response on Aarogya Setu App

Mandatory provision challenged in court

May 12, 2020 07:44 pm | Updated 07:44 pm IST - Kochi

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday directed the Union government to file a statement in response to a public interest litigation challenging its directive making the use of Aarogya Setu App mandatory for all employees, including those in the private sector.

When the petition came up for hearing before the Bench comprising Justice Anu Sivaraman and Justice M.R. Anitha, Union government standing counsel Jaishankar Nair submitted that the Union Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) on Monday issued an order notifying the Aarogya Setu Data Access and Knowledge Sharing Protocol, 2020, that lays down the guidelines for collection, processing, storage and sharing of the ‘anonymised’ data.

He submitted that the protocol took care of the privacy and safety of the data. In fact, it was one of the best Apps in the world to fight the COVID-19. And with the help of the App, around 130 COVID-19 hotspots had been identified.

The court declined to pass any interim order restraining the authorities from taking coercive steps against employers, orally observing that ‘extraordinary situations call for extraordinary measures.’

In his petition, John Daniel, general secretary, Thrissur District Congress Committee, said the directives issued by the Centre as part of the national directives for COVID-19 management was illegal.

The directives said that it shall be the responsibility of the head of the respective organisations to ensure 100% use of the App among all employees. The petitioner contended that the directive took away the right of a person to decide and control use of information about him/her. One was forced to give away data to a system.

The Bench adjourned to May 18 the hearing on the petition.

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