A curfew or a restriction order under Section 144 of CrPC in a locality or a district can only be passed by the District Magistrates and in some states and cities by the commissioner of police under the respective police laws.
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2/
The central government has no power under the Constitution or under any law for issuing such a blanket prohibition order.
3/
3/
Coordinated issuance of 144 orders by the DMs on the ground of the PM's direction amounts to acting under dictation without keeping in mind the specific local situations in mind.
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4/
And to have such prohibitions only for 14 hours when the public health danger persists even after, without adequate explanation for choosing those 14 hours, at the time of making those orders would be arbitrary exercise of power.
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5/
The closest power that the central govt has is a declaration of emergency under Article 352 of the constitution. Public Health is not a ground for declaration of emergency under 352.
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