[17th
October, 2020] An Act further to
amend the Tamil Nadu Public Health Act, 1939. BE it enacted by the
Legislative Assembly of the State of Tamil Nadu in the Seventy-first Year of the
Republic of India as follows: (1)
This Act may be called the
Tamil Nadu Public Health (Second Amendment) Act, 2020 (2)
It shall be deemed to have
come into force on the 4th day of September 2020. In section 3 of the
Tamil Nadu Public Health Act, 1939 (hereinafter referred to as the principal
Act),- (1)
clause (1) shall be
renumbered as clause (1-A), and before clause (1-A) as so renumbered, the
following clause shall be inserted, namely:- “(1)
“act of violence” includes any of the following acts committed by any person
against any personnel, including police personnel, involved in the prevention,
treatment and control of infectious diseases, which causes or may cause- (a)
harassment impacting the
living or working conditions of such personnel and preventing them from
discharging their duties; (b)
harm, injury, hurt,
intimidation or danger to the life of such personnel; (c)
obstruction or hindrance to
such personnel in the discharge of their duties; (d)
loss or damage to any
property or documents in the custody of, or in relation to, such personnel;”; (2)
after clause (17), the
following clause shall be inserted, namely:- “(17-A) “isolation” means complete separation of a person
suffering from an infectious disease from others and detention in a place
designated therefor, for a period not exceeding the maximum known period of
communicability of that disease or until the person is cured of that disease,
so as to prevent or limit the direct or indirect transmission of the infectious
disease;”; (3)
after clause (30), the
following clause shall be inserted, namely:- “(30-A)
“Police Officer” means an officer not below the rank of Sub-Inspector of Police;”; (4)
after clause (32), the
following clause shall be inserted, namely:- “(32-A)
“quarantine” means the limitation or restriction of freedom of movement of a
person reasonably believed to have been exposed to an infectious disease,
though asymptomatic, for a period not exceeding the maximum known incubation period
of that disease, so as to prevent the possibility of spread of that disease to
others;”; (5)
after clause (33), the
following clause shall be inserted, namely:- “(33-A)“social-distancing”
means and includes any measure taken to increase the physical space or distance
between people outside their home, in order to slow down the rate of
transmission of the disease in the community;”. In section 65 of the
principal Act, in sub-section (1), for the expression “The Health Officer or any
person authorized by him in this behalf”, the expression “The Health Officer or
any person authorized by him in this behalf or a Police Officer” shall be
substituted. In section 76 of the
principal Act, for sub-section (2), the following sub-section shall be
substituted, namely:- “(2)
When a declaration under clause (a) or clause (b) of sub- section (1) comes
into operation and until it is withdrawn, the Collector of the district or any
person duly authorized by him by general or special order, or if empowered in
this behalf by rules made under this Act, the Health Officer or any other officer
of the local authority concerned or any Police Officer or any officer of the
Government other than the Collector of the district may, subject to such
exceptions, restrictions, limitations and conditions and to such control as may
be prescribed, either generally or in the case of the notified disease to which
the declaration relates, exercise the following powers, namely:- (a)
to order the evacuation of
infected houses and houses adjoining them or in their neighbourhood, or
generally of all houses in an infected locality; (b)
to make vaccination and
preventive inoculations compulsory subject to the provisions of sub-section
(3); (c)
to direct- (i)
that persons arriving from
places outside the local area, or residing in any building adjacent to, or in
the neighbourhood of, an infected building, shall be examined by a medical
officer; (ii)
that persons in isolation or
in quarantine shall be examined or required to undergo necessary tests by a
medical officer; (iii)
that the clothing, bedding
or other articles belonging to such persons shall be disinfected, if there is
reason to suspect that they have been exposed to infection; (iv)
that any such person shall
give his address and present himself daily for medical examination at a
specified time and place, for a period not exceeding fourteen days; (d)
to take such measures as may
be necessary- (i)
in respect of, or in
relation to, persons exposed to infection from any notified disease, or likely
to infect other persons with any such disease; and (ii)
in respect of, or in
relation to, articles exposed to infection from any notified disease, or likely
to infect persons with any such disease, including in the case of (i), the
placing of restrictions on the movement of such persons, isolation or
quarantine of such persons, as the case may be, and in the case of (ii), the
destruction of such articles and the placing of restrictions on their export
from, import into, or transport within, the local area; (e)
to direct that at any place
within or outside the local area, any consignment of grain exported from, or
imported into, such area by rail, road or otherwise, shall be examined and, if
necessary, unloaded and disinfected in any specified manner; (f)
to close all or any existing
market, and to appoint special places, where markets may be held; (g)
to impose restrictions on
the operation of public and private transport; (h)
to ensure prohibition of
spitting in public places, observance of social distancing norms, wearing of
masks and such other instructions that may be issued, from time to time, by the
Government, in the interest of public health and safety; (i)
to issue standard operating
procedures to be followed in salon and spa, gymnasium and such other public
places; (j)
to ensure adherence of the
guidelines issued by the Government to be followed in containment zones. Explanation.- For the
purpose of this clause, “containment zone” means the area demarcated as such,
based on the cluster of infected cases reported therein, by the Collector of
the district or the Commissioner of the City Municipal Corporation, as the case
may be; (k)
to restrict or prohibit
congregation of persons in public places, religious institutions and places of
worship; (l)
to ensure the functioning of
offices, both the Government and private, and educational institutions as per the
directions of the Government or the Collector of the district; (m)
to ensure prohibition or
restriction on the functioning of shops, commercial establishments, factories,
workshops, godown, etc., as per the directions of the Government or the
Collector of the district; (n)
to ensure duration of
services in essential or emergency services such as banks, media, healthcare,
food supply, electricity, water supply, fuel, etc., as per the directions of
the Government or the Collector of the district; (o)
to provide for inspection
and, if required, detention of any vehicle, vessel, or any other form of
transport, departing, arriving at or passing-through the local area; (p)
to direct any clinical
establishment to admit, isolate and manage cases arising out of public health
emergencies and to furnish report or return in such form and in such manner as
may be prescribed and to provide such services as directed. Explanation.- For the
purpose of this clause, “clinical establishment” means a clinical establishment
as defined in clause (a) of section 2 of the Tamil Nadu Clinical Establishments
(Regulation) Act, 1997 (Tamil Nadu Act 4 of 1997); (q)
to prohibit any such
activity that may be inimical to the public health; (r)
to ensure dissemination of
information pertaining to the notified diseases, disease control and preventive
measures, etc., to the public and to check dissemination of false information
on the subject in the mass media; and (s)
to carry out such other
activity or measures for the regulation, control and prevention of the notified
diseases, as may be directed by the Government or the Collector of the
district.”. After section 77 of
the principal Act, the following section shall be inserted, namely:- “77-A.Prohibition of
act of violence.- (1)
No person shall indulge in
any act of violence against a personnel involved in the prevention, treatment
and control of infectious diseases. (2)
Whoever commits or abets the
commission of any offence under this section shall be punishable with
imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three months but which may
extend to two years and shall be liable to fine which shall not be less than ten
thousand rupees, but which may extend to fifty thousand rupees.”. In section 128 of the
principal Act, the following sub-sections shall be added, namely:- “(3)
(a) All rules made under this Act shall be published in the Tamil Nadu
Government Gazette and, unless they are expressed to come into force on a
particular date, shall come into force on the date on which they are so
published; (b)
All notifications issued under this Act, shall, unless they are expressed to
come into force on a particular date, come into force on the date on which they
are so published. (4) Every rule made or notification or order
issued under this Act, shall, as soon as possible, after it is made or issued,
be placed on the table of the Legislative Assembly and if, before the expiry of
the session, in which it is so placed or the next session, the Legislative
Assembly agrees in making any modification in any such rule or notification or
order or the Legislative Assembly decides that the rule or notification or order
should not be made or issued, the rule or notification or order shall thereafter
have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be,
so however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice
to the validity of anything previously done under that rule or notification or
order.”. “135-A. Offences by
companies.- (1)
Where an offence under this
Act has been committed by a company, every person who, at the time of the
offence was committed was in charge of, and was responsible to the company for
the conduct of the business of the company, as well as the company, shall be
deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against
them and punished accordingly: Provided that nothing
in this sub-section shall render any such person liable to any punishment, if
he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he had
exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such an offence. (2)
Notwithstanding anything
contained in sub-section (1), where any offence under this Act has been
committed by a company and it is proved that the offence has been committed
with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to any neglect on the
part of, any director, manager, secretary or other officer of the company, such
director, manager, secretary or other officer shall be proceeded against and
punished accordingly. Explanation.- For the
purposes of this section- (a)
“company” means any body
corporate and includes a firm or other association of individuals; and (b)
“director” in relation to a
firm, means a partner in the firm.”. (1)
for the expression “by the
police”, the expression “by a Police Officer” shall be substituted; (2)
in the proviso, for the
expression “Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Central Act V of 1898)”, the
expression “Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Central Act 2 of 1974)” shall be
substituted. (1)
in sub-section (1), for the
expression “or of the Government”, the expression “or of the Government or
Police Officer” shall be substituted; (2)
in sub-section (2), for the
expression “or of the Government”, the expression “or of the Government or no
Police Officer” shall be substituted. (1)
The Tamil Nadu Public Health
(Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 is hereby repealed. (2)
Notwithstanding such repeal,
anything done or any action taken under the principal Act, as amended by the
said Ordinance, shall be deemed to have been done or taken under the said Act,
as amended by this Act.Tamil
Nadu Public Health (Second Amendment) Act, 2020
[ACT No. 27 OF 2020]
Section 130 of the principal Act shall
be omitted.
In section 135 of the principal Act, for the expression “or the Health Officer”,
in two places where it occurs, the expression “or the Health Officer or a Police
Officer” shall be substituted.
After section 135 of the principal Act, the following section shall be
inserted, namely:-
In section 138 of the principal Act,-
In section 138-A of the principal Act, for the expression “The executive
authority or the Health Officer”, the expression “The executive authority or the
Health Officer or a Police Officer” shall be substituted.
In section 142 of the principal Act,-
In section 143 of the principal Act, for the expression “or of the Government”,
the expression “or of the Government or Police Officer” shall be substituted.
In Schedule I to the principal Act, for the words “One thousand rupees” in
column (4) relating to section 76 in column (1), the words, “Five thousand
rupees” shall be substituted.