Kerala HC asks Centre if it is duty bound to redress grievance of person who loses their livelihood due to vaccine

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday asked the Central government if it is duty-bound to redress the grievance of a person who loses their livelihood due to the vaccine administered by the state.

The remark from the court came after a petition was filed by Girikumar Thekan Kunnumpurath, an NRI working in Saudi Arabia. He had been administered two doses of Covaxin upon arriving in India. He sought for a third jab.

According to the petition, he said, "If I will not vaccinate with an internationally recognised vaccine, I could lose the job in Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has not approved the Covaxin yet. This stand was hindering me from returning to the Kingdom for employment. The Kingdom only approves Covishield."

On this, a single bench of Justice PV Kunhikrishnan said, "This Court cannot say that a booster shot of Covishield should be provided to the petitioner. But this is a great casualty, a clear violation of Fundamental Rights. I am not blaming the Central government at all. All I am saying is that this is an individual concern and he is refrained from going back to his workplace, so it should be redressed."

Court also directed S Manu, Assistant Solicitor General of India, to get specific instructions regarding the recognition of Covaxin in Saudi Arabia.

The case was further posted to November 29 for further hearing.

( With inputs from ANI )

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