Wake up time
The top court asked questions and made strong comments to the central government regarding the discrepancies related to vaccine policy in the country and the issues related to it. These questions were also related to the problems related to procurement of vaccine, availability of vaccine and registration for it. Actually, the court is taking suo motu cognizance of the issues related to medicine, oxygen and vaccine of Corona patients. A three-member bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud, S. Ravindra Bhatt and L. Nageswara Rao was present. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Central Government before the bench, was questioned by the court. The bench said that the Center is buying the vaccine at a cheap price and the companies are fixing the price for the states and private hospitals. Why is it like this? States are taking out global tenders to buy vaccines, is this part of the Centre’s policy? The bench also asked that the central government gives the cry of Digital India, while due to poverty and illiteracy in the country, how will the working class be able to register on the Kovin app? The court was of the view that there should be uniformity in the price of vaccines in the country. It is not that only the central government can determine right and wrong. The court has every right to intervene in matters of public concern. When the Solicitor General said that this is a policy matter and the court has limited powers of judicial review, the court bluntly said that we are not asking you to change the policy but the central government should be aware of the ground reality. People should not be troubled by the policy of the government. The court accepted that the crisis of the epidemic is big and recently the Foreign Minister went to America for essential things, but the government should also accept its shortcomings. Also said that this hearing is not to make the government uncomfortable, accepting weakness is also a sign of strength.
Actually, the apex court bench wants to know from the central government the real status of the vaccine policy. Justice Friend Jaideep Gupta, drawing the court’s attention to the discrepancies in the vaccine policy, said that the central government has asked the states to enter into a vaccine purchase agreement, but on the one hand, foreign vaccine manufacturers do not want to enter into agreements with the states, while every state’s economic The situation is not such that it will be able to raise an expensive vaccine. However, when asked about the prices of vaccines, the Solicitor General said that if we go towards the investigation related to the prices of vaccines, then it will affect the vaccination program. The court believed that under the federal system of the country, it would have been better that the Center would buy the vaccine and give it to the states. But the Center cannot leave the states in a state of uncertainty. At the same time, it was said from the central government that it has got the vaccine at a lower price due to buying more vaccines. On a question asked by the court about the possibility of rural areas and children being affected more in the third wave challenge, the Center replied that the government has decided the vaccination policy after serious deliberations. If any kind of change is required in this, then the government will be ready to change in the right direction. The court also wanted to know whether the vaccination targets would be achieved by the end of the year according to the vaccine production capacity in the country. On this, the representative of the Center said that the targets have been fixed on the basis of the availability of vaccines. Undoubtedly, the Supreme Court has sought clarification from the Central Government on the questions which are provoking the public of the country so that there is no situation of confusion among the public. Undoubtedly, the apprehensions of the public need to be addressed.
