People receive their Covid-19 vaccines at a mass vaccination center in Mumbai
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre why it could not vaccinate the entire Indian population against Covid-19 free of cost under the National Immunisation Programme, and whether it could take a leaf out of Bangladesh’s book to step around the stringent intellectual property rights impediment and produce Remdesivir as a generic drug.
A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud, L N Rao and S R Bhat also asked solicitor general Tushar Mehta whether the Centre was planning to impose curbs, short of lockdown, to arrest the further spread of Covid-19. It suggested tweaking policy decisions to combat the pandemic and asked the Centre to respond by May 10.
NEW DELHI: In the suo moto proceedings on the Covid-19 crisis, the Supreme Court on Friday asked a string of questions to the Centre about its plans on implementing a lockdown, oxygen distribution to states, vaccine prices and availability of medicines.
Last week, the apex court took cognizance of the issues related to the oxygen supply, drug supply, and various other government policies and measures in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A bench of Justice DY Chandrachud, LN Rao and SR Bhat said that the court has received some petitions which raise entire local issues of grave importance.
Why two prices for Covid-19 vaccine?
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Amid an unprecedented surge in COVID-19 cases across the country, the Supreme Court on Friday said that no state should clampdown on information if citizens communicate their grievances on social media. We want to make it very clear that if citizens communicate their grievance on social media, then it cannot be said it s wrong information. We don t want any clampdown of information. We will treat it as a contempt of court if such grievances are considered for action, the apex court said.
SC says - We want to make it very clear that if citizens communicate their grievance on social media, then it cannot be said it s wrong information. We don t want any clampdown of information. We will treat it as a contempt of court if such grievances are considered for action. ANI (@ANI) April 30, 2021
Terming the second wave of COVID-19 as a national crisis, the Supreme Court on Friday warned authorities, from the Centre down to police chiefs, against silencing people and their pleas for help on the presumption that they are raising false grievances on the internet. The top court made clear that any attempt to clampdown on free flow of information on social media including the call for help from people would be treated as the contempt of court. There should be free flow of information, we should hear voices of citizens, said a bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud, and asked the Centre, states and all DGPs not to take any action against anyone who is posting messages on social media about issues like shortage of oxygen, beds or doctors as spreading rumour.
The Supreme Court on Friday raised question marks over the Centre’s Covid-19 vaccination policy and said it should not “leave the vaccine pricing and distribution to the manufactures”.
The top court also said the manufacturers could not be allowed to decide which state should get how much quota, and that the Centre should procure it from them and distribute it to the states.
“Whether the procurement is for the central government or the states, it is ultimately meant for the citizens. Why must we not adopt the model of the National Immunisation Programme?” the court said, according to legal news portal LiveLaw.in.