Form Compensation Policy For Harm From Covid Shots: Supreme Court To Centre

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Centre to formulate a no-fault compensation policy for people who suffered serious adverse events following Covid-19 vaccination.

No-fault compensation is a system where a person can receive financial compensation for harm or injury without having to prove that someone was negligent or at fault

The top court delivered its verdict on a batch of pleas, including one alleging that two women died in 2021 after taking the first dose of the Covishield vaccine. The petition claimed both suffered severe adverse effects following immunisation.

Importantly, the bench clarified that the formulation of a no-fault compensation framework shall not be construed as an admission of liability or fault on the part of the Central Government or any other authority.

"The formulation of the no-fault framework shall not be construed as an admission of liability or fault on the part of the Union of India or any other authority," the court said.

The top court also directed that the existing mechanism for monitoring adverse events continue to operate and that the data be regularly placed in the public domain.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said the existing mechanism for monitoring adverse events following immunisation will continue to operate and there is no need to set up a separate court-appointed expert body.

"No separate court-appointed expert body is considered necessary in view of the existing mechanism for scientific assessment of adverse events following immunisation," the bench said.

The court also clarified that its judgment does not prevent individuals from pursuing other legal remedies that may be available to them.

The judgment came on a plea filed by two parents seeking compensation for the deaths of their daughters, aged 18 and 20, after they received their first doses of the Covishield vaccine.

They contended that their children suffered from severe Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI).

They said that, though they approached the authorities, they received no satisfactory answer. The petitioners also sought the setting up of an expert committee to inquire into AEFI.

However, the Supreme Court rejected the prayer for a separate expert body to examine AEFI.