MHA makes Spitting offence under Section 51 b of the Disaster Management Act

Anyone refusing to comply with the order of government orders under the Disaster Management Act will result in imprisonment up to one year or a fine, or both.

The Government of India has announced Spitting in public act a punishable offence under the strict Disaster Management Act in its revised guidelines for lockdown issued to contain COVID-19. The announcement was made by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in its revised guidelines.

Highlights:
♦ The guidelines also mandated the wearing of face masks in public places.
♦ MHA has made spitting punishable with a fine under Section 51 (b) of the Disaster Management Act.  
♦ Spitting in public has been already made an offence under municipal laws in various cities. This has been hardly taken seriously by the people in the country. 
♦ Measures have been taken by the Municipal corporations of Delhi and several other states. 
♦ Assam, Bihar, Haryana, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Jharkhand, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand have already issued orders to ban tobacco products and spitting in public places amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 
♦ MHA imposed a strict ban on the sale of liquor, ‘gutka’, tobacco, etc. It strictly prohibited spitting in public places.
♦ The directives shall be implemented by district magistrates through fines and penal action given under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. 
♦ Anyone refusing to comply with the order of government orders under the Disaster Management Act will result in imprisonment up to one year or a fine, or both.