SC: nobody can be forced to undergo vaccinations | Covid-19

The Supreme Court on Monday said that no person can be forced to get vaccinated against Covid-19 and asked the Centre to make public the effect of such an immunisation.

A two-judge bench said bodily autonomy and integrity are protected under Article 21 of the Constitution.

The top court said the current Covid-19 vaccine policy cannot be said to be manifestly arbitrary and unreasonable.

The bench said that till the numbers are low, relevant orders should be followed and no restriction should be imposed on unvaccinated individuals on access to public areas.

About the segregation of vaccine trial data, the bench said that subject to the privacy of the individuals, all data of trials conducted and to be conducted in future must be made available to the public immediately.

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The apex court also directed the Union of India to publish reports on adverse events of vaccines on a publicly accessible system without compromising data of individuals.

The court delivered the judgement on a plea filed by Jacob Puliyel seeking directions for disclosure of data on clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines and post-jab cases.