India Tomorrow Web Desk
Mumbai—The Bombay High Court has asked the Central government to see if the door-to-door vaccination was possible on the lines of those being done in Jammu and Kashmir as also in Kerala and review its earlier policy that door-to-door vaccination was not possible.
The high court made the observations on a public interest petition by advocate Dhruti Kapadia seeking door-to-door vaccination for people above 75 years of age and those who are bedridden or disabled.
The petitioner pointed out that the Kerala government had issued guidelines for door-to-door vaccination of elderly and disabled and bedridden persons. She also submitted that the same thing was being done for nomads in Kashmir where the government employees were going from village on motorcycles to give vaccination to people living in interior areas.
The bench comprising chief justice Dipankar Datta and Justice GS Kulkarni noted that it was unable to understand what the Centre’s problem was in starting door-to-door vaccination when states such as Kerala and Jammu and Kashmir were already carrying out such drives.
“How is it that individual states like Kerala and Jammu and Kashmir have introduced and are successfully doing door-to-door vaccination? What is the Centre’s comment on the Kerala and Jammu and Kashmir pattern?” the bench asked.
“We are not able to understand what the Centre’s problem was. Why don’t you (Union) communicate with these states and if it appeals to you, then you can ask other states also to start the same drive,” the court said, asking the government to take a “sound decision.”
The bench directed Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh to take instructions from the Health Secretary of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on the letter and posted the matter for further hearing on June 14.
