'Disinfectant Tunnels Are Clinically, Psychologically Harmful': Centre Tells SC

The central government on September 7 told the Supreme Court that using disinfectant tunnels is not recommended and is 'clinically and psychologically harmful' for human beings. The tunnels constitute spraying of disinfectants on people who pass through it.

The top court bench headed by justice Ashok Bhushan asked solicitor general Tushar Mehta representing the Centre why disinfectant tunnels were not banned if it is not recommended.

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta told the bench that guidelines will be issued soon and also asked for a weeks' time to submit an affidavit with details to the court.

The three-judge bench granted the time sought and also listed the case for further consideration after two weeks.

The arguments were made following a public interest litigation filed by Gursimran Singh Narula, a final-year law student who sought directions for ban on usage, productions, advertisement and installation of the sanitization tunnels.

The plea stated that the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned about the dangerous ill-effects of using the disinfectant tunnels.

"The tunnel exposes the humans passing through it to ultra-violet rays resulting into "non-consensual medical experimentation" on humans," the plea argued.

Narula informed the court that spraying the disinfectant on individuals may lead to irritation of eyes and skin and psychological and gastrointestinal problems.

"Faulty notion" of sanitizations may prevent people from washing hands and social distancing since they believe they have been sanitized adequately," he mentioned in the plea.

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