The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the concerned authorities of the Centre and Delhi Government to treat a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) as a representation which sought direction for the supply of COVID-19 vaccines in Delhi with immediate effect.
The petitioner Nazia Parveen through Advocate Sanjeev Sagar had prayed for a direction to the Union of India to direct the manufacturers of vaccines to supply them in Delhi as the city is facing a shortage of vaccines.
The Bench of Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh directed the respondents to treat the application as a representation and with the direction the Court also disposed of the application and the main petition of Nazia Parveen.
The main PIL of Nazia had sought direction to the respondents to give priority to auto drivers, bus drivers, taxi drivers, ambulance drivers and people involved in public transport in the vaccination drive.
"Everybody is approaching Court seeking priority in vaccination drive. Court says if we give the priority to everybody, who will be in the second line?" the court observed while hearing the matter.
The petition also sought direction to the Centre and Delhi Government and others to formulate a policy to ensure that all persons who have been given the first shot of Covid vaccine should be given the second dose on priority and more specifically on different days, timing and with the people taking the first dose in a separate line such that they are not put to inconvenience. In this manner, chaos and spread of Covid will be prevented and vaccination will be done smoothly, the plea stated.
The plea also sought direction to respondents to direct the vaccine manufacturers to disclose the formula and open the source code such that other capable manufacturers are able to make vaccines in order to cater to the need of the country.
The petitioner also sought direction to waive clinical trials of foreign vaccines in terms of rule 101 of the New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2018 such that all available foreign vaccines are available for usage.
"Dispense with the registration for vaccination on website and application for all poor vaccination and EWS class citizens such that they are also vaccinated besides literate population," the plea further stated.
The petitioner Nazia Praveen also prayed to the issuance of direction to the respondents to add more vaccination centers and upgrade the infrastructure for streamlined vaccination.
The petitioner stated that to achieve vaccination throughout the country systematic planning and pragmatic approach is the need of the hour, and more particularly when the Union of India has given up its earlier vaccination agenda and put it on respective state governments to purchase vaccines from open market from their own finances, thereby putting states like Delhi under immense financial and administrative pressure. On the other hand, there is no policy that gives priority to states suffering more due to covid in comparison to other states .
( With inputs from ANI )
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