Tribune News Service
New Delhi, 25 October
Observing that vaccination was important to protect people from Covid-19, the Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition asking for mass vaccination of Covishield and Covaxin till the completion of all phases of clinical trials. Orders to stop were sought.
“Let’s not doubt the vaccination process. This is the key to the safety of the population. We do not want the petition to be debated. Even issuing notice on this appeal would be a matter of great mischief.
In its May 26 order, the high court had dismissed the PIL filed by Matthew Thomas—an ex-serviceman—and two others and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on them for filing a frivolous PIL.
The petitioners had argued before the high court that it is not clear under which law the central government has allowed mass vaccination of the population without carrying out clinical trials.
On Monday, the petitioner’s counsel submitted that allowing mass vaccination without completing clinical trials is in violation of relevant regulations and, therefore, the administration of Covishield and Covaxin vaccines was harmful and illegal. But the bench was not convinced at all.
However, the top court refused to challenge the Karnataka High Court’s May 26 order dismissing Mathew’s plea, saying, “The High Court is right in dismissing the petition. It said that the country was suffering a lot during the pandemic.” It has gone through a critical phase and India is not the only country where vaccination was underway.