The Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 needs an urgent overhaul

ABSTRACT

The Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 is a colonial era legislation that is still used as the primary law to control a mass epidemic. The act, most recently, has been invoked by a number of Indian states to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. This article aims to understand the existing scheme under the act, its limitations, judicial scrutiny and the need for a new holistic law from a public health perspective.