The Centre has informed the Supreme Court that the vaccines used in the Covid vaccination programme are manufactured by third parties and are recognised as safe and effective, and there is no evidence to suggest how the state can be held strictly liable for the tragic deaths of the petitioners’ respective children.
The Centre also emphasised that there is no legal requirement to obtain the Covid-19 vaccine.
The response came in response to a petition filed by the parents of two girls who died as a result of the Covid vaccine’s side effects.
In an affidavit, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare stated, “There is no material to suggest how the state can be fastened with strict liability for the tragic death of the respective children of the petitioners which is the requirement in law to sustain a claim for compensation against the state under Article 32 of the Constitution.”
According to the ministry, the vaccines used in the vaccination programme are manufactured by third parties and have passed regulatory review in India and other countries, as well as being recognised globally as safe and effective.
“Under these facts, it is most humbly submitted that holding the state directly liable to provide compensation under the narrow scope of strict liability for extremely rare deaths occurring due to AEFI (Adverse Events Following Immunisation) from the use of vaccines may not be legally sustainable,” it stated.
According to the Health Ministry, if a person suffers physical injury or death as a result of an AEFI, appropriate legal remedies are available to vaccine recipients or their families, including filing a claim for damages/compensation in civil courts for negligence, malfeasance, or misfeasance.
Such claims may be resolved on a case-by-case basis in an appropriate forum, it said, adding that while the deaths were tragic, the government could not be held responsible.
The Health Ministry stated in an affidavit filed on November 23 that, while the government strongly encourages all eligible persons to take the vaccine in the public interest, there is no legal compulsion to do so.
The government responded to a petition filed by the parents of two girls who died as a result of side effects from the Covid vaccine, represented by advocate Satya Mitra.
The Supreme Court issued notice to the Centre in August on the parents’ petition, which sought an independent investigation into the deaths, as well as the timely release of the autopsy and investigation reports. The petitioners also asked for monetary compensation and guidelines for early detection and treatment of people suffering from Covid vaccine side effects.
The petitioners’ counsel stated that the first petitioner’s 18-year-old daughter received the first dose of Covishield in May 2021 and died in June 2021. The second petitioner’s 20-year-old daughter received the first dose of Covishield in June 2021 and died in July 2021.