Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court passed an order on Monday, stating that neither state nor Central Government agencies can deny any benefit to any individual for not having the Aarogya Setu on his phone as there is no law governing the use of the same.
The HC bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Ashok Kinagi passed the order in response to a petition filed by SFLC board member Anivar Arvind, challenging the imposition of the Aarogya Setu app. In his petition, Arvind had also expressed concerns regarding the invasion of privacy in the absence of any specific law governing the collection and processing of data.
It can be recalled that the court, on September 22, had asked the Central Government to specify whether they are collecting personal information or data of the users of the Aarogya Setu app. The government was also asked to specify which app is collecting data and under which law.
Earlier in this month, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus lauded the Aarogya Setu app for helping city public health departments to identify where clusters could be expected.
“The Aarogya Setu app from India has been downloaded by 150 million users, and has helped city public health departments to identify areas where clusters could be anticipated and expand testing in a targeted way, “ an official statement by the WHO read.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Railways, Airports Authority of India and Ministry of Civil Aviation have gone on record stating that the app is not mandatory to avail rail or air services.
