Even as the Supreme Court on Tuesday observed that Covid-19 notices pasted outside residences of patients lead to their considerations as "untouchables" by others, the Centre washed its hands off the matter by saying states may have decided to do so.

A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan and comprising Justices RS Reddy and MR Shah said that the ground reality is such that once such notices are pasted outside Covid-19 patients' houses, others began to treat them as untouchables.