Bengaluru: The Supreme Court on Monday April 25 declined to entertain a plea challenging a State Government order, which made Covid-19 vaccination mandatory for students and staff for physical attendance in educational institutions.
A bench of Justices D. Y. Chandrachud and Surya Kant said this is a matter where the court should not interfere.
“We will not entertain this. Take your vaccine in wider national interest, there are some matters, where we should not interfere,” said Justice Chandrachud.
As the bench queried the petitioner’s reason for not getting vaccinated, counsel for petitioner Sushma S. Aradhya, insisted that his client has faith in Ayurveda and does not believe in allopathic medicines.
At the outset, the bench told the counsel that the high court order regarding the vaccination was passed last year in December, and what is the difficulty in taking the vaccine? The counsel replied that his client was observing social distancing and wearing a mask but her faith is in Ayurveda.
The State High Court had ordered that no student, 18 years and above, teacher or staff can be permitted to attend school or college unless they have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine.
After a brief hearing in the matter, the bench declined to interfere with the State High Court order, which came on a challenge to a government circular issued in July last year by a group of students and teachers of an Ayurveda college, who claimed it is coercive in nature and violative of their fundamental rights.
