HOW ‘AAROGYA SETU’ CAN BE MADE MANDATORY WHEN MANY WORKERS HAVE NO SMARTPHONES, KERALA HC ASKS CENTRE

On Tuesday the HC of Kerala orally raised doubts about the practically of the Mandatory condition imposed on employers to make their employees download ‘Aarogya Setu’, the contact tracing app developed by the National informatics Centre amid COVID-19 Pandemic.

A single bench of Justice P Gopinath said there are many workers who have not smart phones then how the condition imposed should be mandatory ?

The judge also remarked that the Mandatory condition was “Problematic” and asked the Central Government to file a statement on the aspects raised by the bench by May 18.

The court was hearing a Writ Petition filed by one Jackson Mathew, Managing partner of Leetha Industries, who challenged the Central Government directives making the use of app Mandatory by all emplyees.

This condition is not practical, given the fact that many workers have no smartphones, he submitted. Also, as all workplaces are working with 50% strength, it is not possible to ensure the compliance of the mandatory condition by those workers who do not turn up for work.

Advocate Santhosh Mathew, submitted that “Not all my employees have smart phone. To enforce this condition, I have to buy a smart phone for all employees. That is not practical. Employer can not be penalized for this”.

The Central Government Counsel submitted that unless the app is download by maximum number of persons, it will not be effective. The mandatory condition is imposed to ensure maximum proliferation of the app, Central Government Counsel told the bench.

The bench adjourned the hearing till May 18 2020, Justice Gopinath however said that he was not inclined to pass any interim order at the moment, before seeking the statement of the Centre.

By Shubhi Singhal of Law College Dehradun