Masks mandatory even for single passenger in a car

On 7th April, 2021 Justice Pratibha Singh passed a judgment clarifying that a vehicle moving around the city would be deemed to be a ‘public place’. By virtue of this, even those people travelling alone in a car would be required to wear a mask properly.

Relevant extracts of the said judgment are reproduced below-

“A mask is a `Suraksha kavach’ for preventing the spread of the corona virus. It protects the person wearing it, as also the persons to whom the person is exposed. Since the inception of the pandemic, wearing of masks has been one measure that has saved millions of lives. In fact, wearing of a mask even in one’s own homes is encouraged if there are elderly persons or persons suffering from co-morbidities. A vehicle which is moving across the city, even if occupied at a given point in time by one person, would be a public place owing to the immediate risk of exposure to other persons under varying circumstances. Thus, a vehicle even if occupied by only one person would constitute a ‘public place’ and wearing of a mask therein, would be compulsory. The wearing of a mask or a face cover in a vehicle, which may be occupied by either a single person or multiple persons is thus, held to be compulsory in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.”