COVID-19: SC rejects plea for directing Centre to move ICJ for $600B compensation from China

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a plea seeking a 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.

“The writ petition is dismissed,” said a bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde, which granted liberty to petitioner K K Ramesh to make a representation to the government in this regard.

“However, liberty is granted to the petitioner to make a representation to the government. As a sequel to the above, pending interlocutory applications, if any, stand disposed of,” said the bench, which also comprised Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and A S Bopanna, in its order.

Advocate C R Jaya Sukin, appearing for the petitioner, through video conferencing, told the bench that the petition should be treated as a representation by the government. The plea had claimed there was strong evidence that coronavirus or COVID-19, which has “destroyed” the Indian economy and killed hundreds of its citizens, originated from China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology.

The plea had alleged that COVID-19 has been “deliberately created by China as a 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.