Karnataka HC dismisses petition against Covid vaccination

The petition was filed by a retired army officer and two others. They stated that the vaccines have not passed adequate clinical trials. A divisional bench headed by Chief Justice AS Oka heard the matter.

Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court dismissed a PIL seeking to halt the inoculation drive against Covid-19 and the petitioner was charged a fine of Rs 50,000.

The petition was filed by a retired army officer and two others. They stated that the vaccines have not passed adequate clinical trials. A divisional bench headed by Chief Justice AS Oka heard the matter.

The bench stated the petition was not in public interest and it could not be considered. The Court also pointed out that the inoculation exercise began in January 2021 and filing a petition against it in May was faulty. Millions of people in the country were waiting to get administered with the vaccine and hearing the petition was a waste of the Court's time, the bench said.

Earlier, advocates for the petitioners argued that the central government had approved two vaccines. But, there is no record of it, and the government acted against the 2019 drug regulations. So mass vaccination should be stopped. Otherwise, there would be widespread social harm, he explained to the bench.