"Opinions Can Never Substitute Facts": Delhi Court Dismisses Plea Seeking NIA Probe Into Origins Of Covid 19 Pandemic

A Delhi Court has dismissed the plea moved by Former Director General of Health Services and Padma Shree Awardee Dr. Jagdish Prasad seeking registeration of FIR and investigation into the origins of the covid 19 pandemic after observing that opinions cannot substitute facts which are essential to be disclosed for creation of an offence.

Additional Sessions Judge Parveen Singh also observed that the plea was based on mere theories and assumptions which  cannot be said to be an established fact.

"Opinions can never substitute facts and for creation of an offence, certain facts constituting the offence need to be disclosed and not the mere possibilities as has been done in the present case," the Court said.

It further said:

"Therefore, even on merits, the complaint does not call for any investigation as is it based on theories which have been propounded by individuals on assumptions and analysis raised by them, which in no manner can be said to be an established fact."

The plea alleged that the origin of the covid pandemic seemed to be a "mischievous handiwork" of persons who seek to cause harm to India.

Analyzing the contentions raised in the plea, the Court was of the opinion that the complaint was based upon media reports, opinions, "conjectures, surmises, probabilities and possibilities."

"There are no categorical facts which have been alleged and only the possibilities that SARS-CoV-2 might have been genetically modified at Wuhan Laboratories have been raised and that too not on the basis of facts but on the basis of view of experts," The Court said.

Filed through Advocates Mehmood Pracha and Jatin Bhatt, the plea was filed under sec. 156(3) CrPC read with sec. 16 of the NIA Act which grants power to the Special Court for taking cognizance of any offence, without the accused being committed to it for trial, upon receiving a complaint.

Stating that he is national and international renowned in the field of medicine with recognized expertise in cardiothoracic surgery, it was stated by Prasad that the virus has "genetic similarity" to variants of the coronavirus found inbats, and that the transmission was a result of incidental or intentional transmission from a lab at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

The plea also stated that the issue has been subject matter of inquiry at the national level in various countries, including the United States of America, Australia, as well as the World Health Organization.

"That surprisingly, despite the fact that the virus had undoubtedly originated in China, the number of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in China has been miniscule, with barely ninety thousand cases, and less than five thousand deaths while their economy remains rather unaffected by the pandemic, meanwhile the economy of India has taken a nosedive, giving a strong indication of motive and benefit for the criminal intent behind the origin and spread of the virus," The plea read.

Furthermore, the plea also alleged that the coronavirus is a deliberately artificially created and has been spread as a biological weapon as part of a "conspiracy to cause substantial human and economic loss in India as well as the world."

"...in view of the nefarious, terrorist, expansionist, aggressive and animus behavior of China at the borders in North-East region of India, it would be very dangerous to not undertake a detailed investigation qua the origins and spread of the virus from China to India so that the entire truth in this regard can come out and the guilty are punished in accordance with various provisions of Indian law," The plea read.

The plea stated that in view of the aforesaid, offences under sec. 16, 17, 18, 18A, 18B, 23 etc. of UAPA,sec. 14 of Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Act and various offences under IPC are made out.

Title: DR. JAGDISH PRASAD v. STATE

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