In order to contain further spread of COVID-19, Mumbai Police has ordered the imposition of Section 144 or Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) till May 17. Section 144 of CrPC prohibits the gathering of four or more people in an area.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has also imposed Section 144 across the state as a response to the ongoing coronavirus crisis. The Maharashtra CM also called for the extension of Janta Curfew to be till tomorrow morning. He further made it clear that the attendance requirement in government offices brought down to 5 percent from 25 percent.

Section 144 of CrPC imposed in Mumbai will prohibit movement or gathering of one or more persons between 8 pm to 7 am. The order from the Mumbai Police also mentions prohibition on public gatherings of any sort at religious places.

Mumbai Police’s prohibitory order will exclude the movement of people for medical reasons.

All movement or gathering of people between 7 am to 8 pm will be regulated as per Maharashtra Government’s lockdown guidelines. Any person contravening Maharashtra Government’s order shall be punishable under Section 188 of IPC.

On May 1, 2020, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) extended the lockdown in India till May 17, where red zones and orange zones were allowed limited activities, keeping the coronavirus cases in mind.

Further, essential services, banks and stock exchanges will remain open.