HC issues notices to state secretary, local bureaucrats in connection with vaccination drive

Aurangabad, Dec 22:

The Aurangabad Bench of Bombay High Court comprising Justice S V Gangapurwala and Justice S G Dighe has today ordered serving of notices of the state's chief secretary, the district collector and the administrator of Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). A petition challenging the action like making vaccination mandatory, collecting a fine of Rs 500 from unvaccinated citizens and preventing from travelling without vaccination has been filed in the High Court. The next hearing will be held on January 12, 2022.

The petitioners and law students Imad Mujahid Qureshi and Amer Yusuf Patel (residents of Fatemanagar in Harsul-Aurangabad) through Adv Saeed Shaikh brought into notice that the vaccination is not compulsory, but optional. They also gave references of the website of the union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and the affidavits submitted in the Goa Bench of Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court in this regard. The affidavits also stated that there is no government scheme of being unbiased with unvaccinated citizens.

The petitioners also urged to scrap the orders issued by the state secretary (on November 27, 2021) and the Aurangabad district collector (on November 25, 2021) prohibiting from issuing travelling tickets to unvaccinated citizens. They ordered to implement the rule ' No Vaccine No Journey' strictly. Besides, an order issued by the AMC administrator (on December 13, 2021) of imposing a fine of Rs 500 from each unvaccinated person, should also be scrapped.

The tehsildar (revenue) Pooja Sudam Patil, on behalf of the district collector, submitted a pledge stating that the vaccination drive is not being implemented forcibly and it is also not being biased. The basic rights of citizens are also not violated during the vaccination drive. Adv Shaikh was assisted by Adv Someshwar Gunjal. The Chief Public Prosecutor D R Kale represented the state government.