The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Centre and the family welfare ministry to expeditiously formulate a national policy to incorporate a “no-fault compensation” framework to pay those who suffered adverse effects of Covid-19 vaccination.
Under a no-fault compensation policy, the Centre cannot fasten any fault on the victim or the family.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta passed the directions while dealing with a batch of petitions seeking adequate compensation to families of those who succumbed due to the adverse effects of different Covid-19 vaccines or are still facing multiple health issues on account of the vaccination.
“The Union of India, through the ministry of health and family welfare, is hereby directed to expeditiously formulate and place in the public domain an appropriate no-fault compensation framework to address serious adverse events following immunisation arising in the context of Covid-19 vaccination,” Justice Nath, who authored the judgment, observed.
The bench also issued the following directives:
n The existing mechanisms for monitoring adverse events following immunisation shall continue, and relevant data shall be periodically placed in the public domain
n No separate court-appointed expert body is considered necessary in view of the existing mechanisms for scientific assessment of adverse events following immunisation
n It is clarified that this judgment shall not preclude any person from pursuing such other remedies as may be available in law. Equally, 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 authority
Petitioners Rachana Gangu and others who had lost their kin during the pandemic had urged the apex court to direct the Centre to constitute an independent expert medical board to inquire into such deaths, the formulation of protocols for early detection and treatment of adverse events following immunisation (AEFI), and the grant of compensation.
The non-disclosure of voluntariness, lack of truthful risk communication, investigative lapses in monitoring AEFI, denial of access to medical records, absence of diagnostic protocols and non-publication of causality assessments have led to the violation of Articles 14, 19(1)(a) and 21 of the Constitution. It was argued that many individuals had lost their lives, and many families their sole breadwinners.