MP Government To Withdraw 56,000 Cases Against People For Violating Covid-19 Norms

The Madhya Pradesh government on Thursday announced to take back the cases registered against persons under “normal sections” for violating Covid-19 norms during the lockdown, state home minister and government spokesman Narottam Mishra said.

During the lockdown, more than 56,000 cases were registered against citizens under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Pandemic Act for activities like not wearing a mask or gathering in public on the grounds that it could potentially spread the viral infection.

On the directives of the chief minister, the government has decided to take back cases registered against persons under “normal sections (applicable for non-serious offences) for violating Covid-19 norms during the lockdown period”, Mishra told reporters.

“A total of 32,463 cases under section 188 (disobedience to order promulgated by public servant) of IPC and 669 cases under the Pandemic Act were registered during the first lockdown period from March 20, 2020, to June 30, 2020,” Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) Home Dr Rajesh Rajora told PTI.

Similarly, during the second lockdown between March 13, 2021, and June 19, 2021, a total of 22,336 cases were registered under section 188 of IPC and 1,202 under the Pandemic Act were registered against the people for violating Covid-19 norms, he added. The Centre has also issued an advisory on the issue, he said.

A lockdown was imposed in the state in March 2020 as part of the nationwide move and later in phases to prevent the spread of infection during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 10,56,341 persons tested positive for coronavirus and 10,786 fatalities were reported due to it till June 4 in the state. The number of active cases in MP stands at five, as per a state health bulletin.