No Individual Can Be Forced For Vaccination, Says SC, But Govt. Policy 'Not Unreasonable'

Public on: 08-May-2022 Views 946

No Individual Can Be Forced For Vaccination, Says SC, But Govt. Policy 'Not Unreasonable'

During a hearing today on Monday on the government’s Covid policy, the Supreme Court invoked Article 21 (Right to Life) and said that no individual can be forced to take vaccinations as that would violate their ‘bodily integrity’. The petition was being heard by a Bench comprising of Justices L Nageshwar Rao and B R Gavai. It also observed, however, that the government’s vaccination policy cannot be held to be manifestly arbitrary or unreasonable.

The petition has been filed by Jacob Puliyel seeking directions to the government to disclose vaccine trail and post-vaccination data.

The Bench stated that, “Till the numbers [of cases] are low, we suggest that relevant orders are followed, and no restriction is imposed on unvaccinated individuals on access to public areas or recall the same if already not done”. It also said that all data pertaining to vaccine trials must be made public subject to individual privacy.

It also directed the Union government to publish reports on adverse effects of the vaccine sourced from the public and doctors and make it available without compromising privacy.

India has recorded 3,157 cases in the past 24 hours and an increase of 408 active cases along with 26 deaths. The positivity rate has is above 1.07%, crossing 1 per cent after almost two months.  

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