Govt Data Shows COVID Vaccines Led To Some Deaths; State Cannot Shrug Off Responsibility: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court held that when a vaccination programme is undertaken as a State-led public health intervention, the government cannot evade responsibility towards families who allege deaths or serious injuries following vaccination, particularly when official data itself acknowledges that some deaths occurred after COVID-19 vaccination.Observing that the Constitution does not view the right to life solely through the prism of fault, the Court said that Article 21 imposes a positive obligation on the State to ensure that affected families are not left without any accessible mechanism for redress.A bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta accordingly directed the Union Government to formulate a no-fault compensation policy for serious adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination.The directions were issued in a batch of petitions led by Rachana Gangu v Union of India, filed by families alleging deaths or severe medical conditions following COVID-19 vaccination.The Court clarified that it was not examining the efficacy of the vaccines or reviewing the regulatory approval process. Instead, the constitutional question before it was whether the absence of a structured redress mechanism for persons allegedly harmed during a State-driven vaccination programme warranted institutional intervention.“The Constitution does not view the right to life solely through the lens of fault. Article 21 also embodies a positive obligation of the State to ensure that where grave harm is alleged to have occurred in the course of a State-led public health intervention, affected families are not left without any accessible mechanism of redress. The absence of such an institutional framework raises constitutional concerns which warrant a calibrated response,” the Court observed.Highlighting the nature of the vaccination drive as a State-led initiative undertaken during an unprecedented public health crisis, the Court said that the State could not distance itself from the consequences of adverse events."The vaccination program undertaken during the pandemic was itself an expression of these constitutional commitments. The State went above and beyond in order to create a vaccination scheme and the same undoubtedly helped save many lives. But at the same time, as the government data itself suggests, it cannot be brushed aside that the same vaccines also led to loss of life. In such a situation, it is not appropriate that the State shrugs its responsibility in coming to aid to those affected families who have lost their near and dear ones."BackgroundThe proceedings arose from a writ petition filed by parents of two young women who died after receiving COVID-19 vaccines. The petition sought constitution of an independent medical board to examine such deaths, formulation of protocols for identifying adverse events following immunisation (AEFI), and compensation for affected families.Similar petitions were also filed before the Kerala High Court. In one such case, the High Court directed the Union Government and the National Disaster Management Authority to frame a policy for identifying AEFI cases and compensating families of persons who allegedly died following vaccination.The Union Government challenged that interim direction before the Supreme Court. Several connected matters from the Kerala High Court were also transferred to the apex court for adjudication.Petitioners' ArgumentsThe petitioners alleged structural deficiencies in India's vaccine governance regime, contending that the Union Government failed to ensure transparency, informed consent and effective post-vaccination surveillance.They argued that although vaccination was formally voluntary, administrative restrictions on travel and access to public spaces effectively compelled citizens to take vaccines.The petitioners also pointed to international scientific studies linking AstraZeneca's vaccine platform, of which Covishield is a version, with rare blood clotting disorders, alleging that the government did not adequately disclose such risks or publish causality assessments of adverse events.They further contended that families of individuals who died following vaccination were left without any effective remedy and urged the Court to direct the formulation of a compensation framework.Union Government's ResponseThe Union Government argued that COVID-19 vaccines were approved after rigorous regulatory scrutiny by statutory bodies such as the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation and expert committees.It also submitted that India already has a well-established AEFI surveillance system involving district, state and national committees that monitor and investigate adverse events.According to the government, the incidence of vaccine-related complications such as thrombotic thrombocytopenia syndrome in India was extremely rare. It also contended that affected individuals could pursue civil or consumer remedies in cases involving negligence or liability.Court's...

Govt Data Shows COVID Vaccines Led To Some Deaths; State Cannot Shrug Off Responsibility: Supreme Court

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Article 21 imposes an obligation on the State to ensure that families alleging grave harm due to the State Vaccine program have a mechanism for redress.

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