New Delhi: The Supreme Court said Monday that no individual in the country could be forced to get vaccinated.
The apex court also said the current vaccine policy in India could not be said to be unreasonable and “manifested arbitrarily”.
The court was hearing a public interest litigation seeking a modification to the country’s Covid vaccine policy.
A Bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and B.R. Gavai made it clear no person could be forced to get vaccinated against his or her wishes though the “government could regulate the bodily autonomy of individuals”.
The justices said: “Considering bodily autonomy, bodily integrity is protected under article 21. No one can be forced to get vaccinated. (But) the government can regulate in areas of bodily autonomy.”
The top court also said conditions imposed by state governments and organisations restricting access of unvaccinated people to public places was “not proportional and should be recalled in the present prevailing conditions”.
The judgement stated: “Till numbers are low, we suggest that relevant orders are followed and no restriction is imposed on individuals on access to public areas or recall the same if already not done.”
The Bench directed the central government to publish reports on adverse events of vaccines on a “publicly-accessible system without compromising the data of the individuals who are reporting the vaccine effects”.
The court ordered: “Regarding segregation of vaccine trial data, subject to privacy of individuals, all trials conducted and to be subsequently conducted, all data must be made available to the public without further delay.”
The judgement was delivered on a petition filed by former member of the National Technical Advisory Group, Dr Jacob Puliyel, who sought the disclosure of clinical trial data of Covid vaccines and a declaration that mandatory vaccination was unconstitutional.
Also read: From cholera to Covid, here’s a brief history of vaccines on World Immunisation Week