The outbreak of the SARS CoV2 virus, commonly referred to as the COVID-19 pandemic, has impacted the social, economic, political, and cultural lives of citizens around the world. The sudden outbreak of the pandemic has exposed the legal preparedness, or lack thereof, of governments to reduce and contain its drastic impact. Strong legislative measures play a crucial role in any epidemic or pandemic situation. In this situation, the Indian Government has requested all state governments to invoke the Epidemic Disease Act (EDA) of 1897 to address the COVID-19 emergency. The Central Government has also used the powers provided in the Disaster Management Act (DMA) of 2005. As the country is facing its first major health emergency since independence, the existing legislative measures to deal with a COVID-19 like situation are lacking and require certain amendments to address such situations in the future. This paper aims to present the current constitutional and legislative response to health emergencies in India and attempts to identify gray areas in the statutory provisions. Based on the analysis, this paper suggests several recommendations for amending current legislation and suggests the promulgation of comprehensive public health law. This paper is largely based on primary sources such as the EDA and the DMA, regulations, guidelines, rules issued by the public authorities and court cases related to health and health emergencies along with secondary resources such as newspaper articles and published papers.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 和印度的立法反应：需要制定全面的医疗保健法

SARS CoV2 病毒（通常称为 COVID-19 大流行）的爆发已经影响了世界各地公民的社会、经济、政治和文化生活。大流行的突然爆发暴露了政府在减少和遏制其剧烈影响方面的法律准备或缺乏准备。强有力的立法措施在任何流行病或大流行情况下都发挥着至关重要的作用。在这种情况下，印度政府已要求所有州政府援引 1897 年流行病法案 (EDA) 来应对 COVID-19 紧急情况。中央政府还使用了 2005 年《灾害管理法》（DMA）规定的权力。由于该国正面临独立以来的首次重大卫生紧急情况，缺乏处理类似 COVID-19 情况的现有立法措施，并且需要在未来进行某些修订以解决此类情况。本文旨在介绍印度当前对突发卫生事件的宪法和立法反应，并试图确定法律规定中的灰色地带。在分析的基础上，本文提出了一些修改现行立法的建议，并建议颁布全面的公共卫生法。本文主要基于 EDA 和 DMA 等主要资源、公共当局发布的法规、指南、规则以及与健康和突发卫生事件相关的法庭案件，以及报纸文章和已发表论文等次要资源。本文旨在介绍印度当前对突发卫生事件的宪法和立法反应，并试图确定法律规定中的灰色地带。在分析的基础上，本文提出了一些修改现行立法的建议，并建议颁布全面的公共卫生法。本文主要基于 EDA 和 DMA 等主要资源、公共当局发布的法规、指南、规则以及与健康和突发卫生事件相关的法庭案件，以及报纸文章和已发表论文等次要资源。本文旨在介绍印度当前对突发卫生事件的宪法和立法反应，并试图确定法律规定中的灰色地带。在分析的基础上，本文提出了一些修改现行立法的建议，并建议颁布全面的公共卫生法。本文主要基于 EDA 和 DMA 等主要资源、公共当局发布的法规、指南、规则以及与健康和突发卫生事件相关的法庭案件，以及报纸文章和已发表论文等次要资源。本文提出了一些修改现行立法的建议，并建议颁布全面的公共卫生法。本文主要基于 EDA 和 DMA 等主要资源、公共当局发布的法规、指南、规则以及与健康和突发卫生事件相关的法庭案件，以及报纸文章和已发表论文等次要资源。本文提出了一些修改现行立法的建议，并建议颁布全面的公共卫生法。本文主要基于 EDA 和 DMA 等主要资源、公共当局发布的法规、指南、规则以及与健康和突发卫生事件相关的法庭案件，以及报纸文章和已发表论文等次要资源。