Give full vaccine purchase data: SC
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to place on record all relevant documents and file notings reflecting its thinking culminating in the COVID-19 vaccination policy, and the purchase history till date of all jabs including Covaxin, Covishield and Sputnik V.
The top court also asked the Centre to specify the steps being taken by it to ensure drug availability for mucormycosis or black fungus.
The Supreme Court also asked the Union government to clarify how the sum of Rs 35,000 crore earmarked in the Union Budget for procuring vaccines have been spent so far.
Further, the Court asked why these funds cannot be used for giving free vaccination for those in the age group 18 to 44 years, Live Law reported.
The Court questioned the justification given by the Centre in its affidavit that the pricing policy has been framed to enable competitive pricing to incentivize more private manufacturers. When there are only two manufacturers to negotiate with pre-fixed prices, the Court wondered how this justification can be tenable.
Besides, it directed all states and Union Territories within two weeks their stand on providing free vaccination.
A special bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud, L N Rao and S Ravindra Bhat said: While filing its affidavit, UoI shall also ensure that copies of all the relevant documents and file notings reflecting its thinking and culminating in the vaccination policy are also annexed on the vaccination policy.
"Hence, we direct the UoI to file its affidavit within 2 weeks," the bench said in its May 31 order uploaded on Wednesday on its website.
The bench asked the Centre to ensure that each issue dealt by it in the order is responded to individually.
"The complete data on the Central Government's purchase history of all the COVID-19 vaccines till date (Covaxin, Covishield and Sputnik V). The data should clarify: (a) the dates of all procurement orders placed by the Central Government for all 3 vaccines; (b) the quantity of vaccines ordered as on each date; and (c) the projected date of supply," the bench said. The top court's order came in suo motu case on COVID-19 management.
While raising several questions at the Union government's Covid vaccination policy and making a prima facie observation that certain aspects of the policy are "arbitrary and irrational", the Supreme Court has taken efforts to clarify that it is not breaching the principle of separation of powers and it is only performing a role envisaged by the Constitution.
"Our Constitution does not envisage courts to be silent spectators when constitutional rights of citizens are infringed by executive policies. Judicial review and soliciting constitutional justification for policies formulated by the executive is an essential function, which the courts are entrusted to perform," the bench said in its May 31 order uploaded on Wednesday.
The top court added that it is presently assuming a dialogic jurisdiction where various stakeholders are provided a forum to raise constitutional grievances with respect to the management of the pandemic.
"Hence, this Court would, under the auspices of an open court judicial process, conduct deliberations with the executive where justifications for existing policies would be elicited and evaluated to assess whether they survive constitutional scrutiny," it said.
