The Supreme Court on Thursday junked to consider a PIL that claimed that Coronavirus pandemic created by human-led to genocide. The PIL further requested the apex court to give directions to the World Health Organization (WHO) and China, where the virus originated. A two-judge bench of SC headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and comprising of Justice Hrishikesh Roy told the petitioner Raman Kakkar, "Petitioner may be a doctor but not a lawyer as is evident from the prayers in PIL, which can't be entertained."
No jurisdiction on WHO and China: Supreme Court
The petitioner moved the top court to try to pass instructions against the officials of the WHO who failed to prevent the spread of the disease of Covid-19 worldwide. The bench observed that the plea seeking compensation for damages suffered as a result of the pandemic from China to India could not be sustained. The bench argued that it has no jurisdiction to summon China and WHO.
The court said, "this court is not the government and how can it say what the WHO and China should do?" The petitioner argued that the WHO had postponed announcing Covid-19 as a world-threatening health emergency by a month. The bench reiterated that there is no sustainability of the petition.
Several reports have emerged claiming that China has concealed critical Covid-19 information, including the discovery of the initial outbreak and the country's first death for several days. The US has also blamed China for the globe-wide Covid-19 outbreak.
Earlier this year in June, in order to transfer the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to file a USD 600 billion compensation lawsuit against China, the apex court refused to entertain a plea seeking guidance from the Centre. The plea claimed that China had "deliberately produced" the COVID-19 pandemic. The petition was rejected by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde, but the petitioner was given the right to make representations before the Centre.
The lawsuit claimed that there was clear evidence that COVID-19 emerged at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China and also claimed that it was purposely developed by China as a biological weapon against India.
