COVID-19: SC refuses to hear plea for directing Centre to move ICJ for compensation from China

On Thursday, the Supreme Court refused to entertain a plea seeking direction to the Centre to approach the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and file a USD 600 billion compensation case against China, alleging that the COVID-19 pandemic was "deliberately created" by it.

A bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and A S Bopanna said it would not entertain PIL which claimed there was strong evidence that coronavirus or COVID-19, which has "destroyed" the Indian economy and killed hundreds of it citizens, originated from China's Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Advocate C R Jaya Sukin, appearing for the petitioner, told the bench that the plea should be treated as a representation by the government.

The plea, filed by Madurai resident K K Ramesh, had alleged that COVID-19 has been "deliberately created by China as biological weapon against India".

"Petitioner states COVID-19 pandemic was designed by China to be a very effective and catastrophic biological warfare weapon to kill mass population in India," said the plea.

It underlined that coronavirus spread in India, other countries and continents but not in other cities of China despite originating in nearby Wuhan.

The plea said that since individuals cannot approach the ICJ, the Centre should be directed to file the compensation case against China.

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