oppn parties Supreme Court Slams 'Liberalized' Vaccination Policy

Story Of The Day

Assessee Not Responsible For Ensuring TDS Is Paid To The Government: Delhi HC
OPINIONS : Strongly Expressed

December 21, 2024

People Are Talking About

Rohit Warns Sarfaraz, Police Use It To Warn Two-Wheeler Riders

News Snippets

  • The Indian envoy in Bangladesh was summoned by the country's government over the breach in the Bangladesh mission in Agartala
  • Bank account to soon have 4 nominees each
  • TMC and SP stayed away from the INDIA bloc protest over the Adani issue in the Lok Sabha
  • Delhi HC stops the police from arresting Nadeem Khan over a viral video which the police claimed promoted 'enmity'. Court says 'India's harmony not so fragile'
  • Trafiksol asked to refund IPO money by Sebi on account of alleged fraud
  • Re goes down to 84.76 against the USD but ends flat after RBI intervenes
  • Sin goods like tobacco, cigarettes and soft drinks likely to face 35% GST in the post-compensation cess era
  • Bank credit growth slows to 11% (20.6% last year) with retail oans also showing a slowdown
  • Stock markets continue their winning streak on Tuesday: Sensex jumps 597 points to 80845 and Nifty gains 181 points to 24457
  • Asian junior hockey: Defending champions India enter the finals by beating Malaysia 3-1, to play Pakistan for the title
  • Chess World title match: Ding Liren salvages a sraw in the 7th game which he almost lost
  • Experts speculate whether Ding Liren wants the world title match against D Gukesh to go into tie-break after he let off Gukesh easily in the 5th game
  • Tata Memorial Hospital and AIIMS have severely criticized former cricketer and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu for claiming that his wife fought back cancer with home remedies like haldi, garlic and neem. The hospitals warned the public for not going for such unproven remedies and not delaying treatment as it could prove fatal
  • 3 persons died and scores of policemen wer injured when a survey of a mosque in Sambhal near Bareilly in UP turned violent
  • Bangladesh to review power pacts with Indian companies, including those of the Adani group
D Gukesh is the new chess world champion at 18, the first teen to wear the crown. Capitalizes on an error by Ding Liren to snatch the crown by winning the final game g
oppn parties
Supreme Court Slams 'Liberalized' Vaccination Policy

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-06-02 15:15:25

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.

The Supreme Court has slammed the government's vaccination policy for 18-45 year-olds. It has called the decisions "prima facie arbitrary and irrational" .

The court also rejected the government charge that the judiciary should steer clear of intervening in executive decisions. It was of the view that the judiciary cannot be a silent spectator if the constitutional rights of citizens are violated due to executive policy. The people have the right to seek redress from the judiciary and the courts will do so as per law.

The court also wanted to know from the government the comparative pricing for vaccines in India and the rest of the world. It was especially inquisitive about the use of Rs 35000 crore set aside for vaccination and asked the government to place on record the complete details (dates of orders placed, quantity ordered and projected dates of supply) of vaccine procurement and supply. It also asked the government to place on record the projected roadmap of availability of vaccines till December 31 2021.

Asking the question "if Rs 35,000 crore has been allocated for vaccine, why it cannot be used for vaccinating the 18-44 age group" the court went on to say that "due to the importance of vaccinating individuals in the 18-44 age group, the policy of the Central Government for conducting free vaccination themselves for groups under the first 2 phases, and replacing it with paid vaccination by the State/UT Governments and private hospitals for the persons between 18-44 years is, prima facie, arbitrary and irrational".

Under the garb of 'liberalized' vaccine policy, the government had let vaccine manufacturers charge differently from the Centre, the states and private hospitals and had asked 18-45 year-olds to pay for getting jabbed. It was reported that people in India were paying a lot more for vaccination than in other countries. The government has also not disclosed how it will spend the Rs 35000 crore earmarked for vaccination. Hence, the top courts intervention is timely. The case will be heard again on June 30 by which time the government is expected to come up with the answers to the questions posed by the bench. 

Other Stories You Make Like

Editorials

Turmoil In Mollywood

Turmoil In Mollywood

NDA 3.0: Coalition Dharma

NDA 3.0: Coalition Dharma

In Depth

Supreme Court Gets Strict On Child Pornography

Supreme Court Gets Strict On Child Pornography

Editor's Pick

Budapest Chess Olympiad: India Are World Team Champions

Budapest Chess Olympiad: India Are World Team Champions
© 2014 India Commentary. All rights reserved.