New Delhi, March 10 The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Centre to formulate a no-fault compensation policy for those who suffered serious adverse events following Covid vaccination.
The apex court said that the existing mechanism for monitoring adverse events following immunization shall continue, and relevant data should be periodically placed in the public domain in accordance with the observations made by the apex court in its May 2022 verdict in the Jacob Puliyel case.
"No separate court-appointed expert body is considered necessary in view of the existing mechanism for scientific assessment of adverse events following immunization," a bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said.
While pronouncing the judgment, Justice Nath clarified that its verdict shall not preclude any person from pursuing such other remedies as may be available in law.
"Similarly, the formulation of the no-fault framework shall not be construed as an admission of liability or fault on the part of the Union of India or any other authority," the bench said.
The top court delivered its verdict on pleas, including the one which alleged that two women lost their lives in 2021 after taking the first dose of the Covishield vaccine.
The plea, while alleging that both suffered from severe adverse effects following immunization, had also sought a direction to the authorities to grant monetary compensation to the petitioners, which would be donated by them to organizations working on social issues.
When the bench was hearing the matter in November last year, the counsel appearing for the Centre had referred to data about Covid-19 vaccination in India up to December 2024.
"The total doses administered in India is 220 crores. The total number of AEFI (adverse effects following immunization) cases reported is 92,697, which is 0.0042 percent," the Centre's counsel had said, adding that the total deaths reported was 1,171, which was 0.00005 percent.
The Centre's lawyer had said that minor cases were 89,854 and severe or serious cases were 2,843.
The Centre had earlier told the top court that the Covid pandemic was "a disaster like no other," and vaccination saved people's lives.
In its May 2022 verdict on a plea filed by Jacob Puliyel, the top court had observed that bodily integrity is protected under Article 21 of the Constitution, and no individual can be forced to be vaccinated against Covid.
It had asked the Centre to make public data on the adverse events of immunization.
The top court, however, had said in the interest of protecting public health, the government was entitled to regulate issues of public health concern by imposing certain limitations on individual rights, which were open to scrutiny by constitutional courts.