New Delhi: India's Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Central government to formulate a policy that would provide compensation to individuals who experience serious adverse reactions after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. The Court said the proposed framework must operate on a "no-fault" basis, meaning affected individuals can receive compensation without having to prove negligence or wrongdoing by authorities.
The order was issued by a Bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta while hearing petitions concerning alleged deaths linked to vaccine side effects. The judges emphasised that introducing such a compensation system should not be interpreted as an admission of liability by the government or any other authority.
In its directions, the Court asked the Union government to develop a structured policy addressing severe adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination. At the same time, the existing mechanism for monitoring and investigating adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) will continue to operate. The Bench also suggested that relevant data related to such incidents should be periodically placed in the public domain to ensure transparency.
The case before SC included a petition filed by the parents of two girls who allegedly passed away after complications due to the COVID-19 vaccine. The petitioners sought the formation of an independent expert committee for the investigation of the deaths, along with the timely release of the inquiry and post-mortem reports. Compensation has also been requested for treatment and early detection of such complications. However, the Supreme Court concluded that creating a separate court-appointed expert body was unnecessary.
The judges noted that an established scientific system is in place for examining and assessing adverse reactions after immunisation. Essentially, SC clarified that the decision does not prevent individuals who believe that they have been harmed by the vaccine from seeking legal help through appropriate channels.
The matter also traces back to a 2022 order by the Kerala High Court, which had asked the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to frame guidelines for identifying deaths caused by COVID-19 vaccine complications and for compensating the dependents of such victims. That order arose from a petition filed by a woman who claimed her husband died due to vaccine side effects.
The Central government challenged the High Court's directive in the Supreme Court, arguing that only COVID-19 itself had been declared a disaster under the Disaster Management Act, not deaths allegedly linked to vaccination. As such, it maintained that there was no existing policy allowing compensation for vaccine-related deaths under that law.
The Supreme Court ultimately heard the Centre's challenge along with the petition filed by the parents of the two girls. With its latest order, the Court has now asked the government to put in place a compensation framework while continuing to rely on existing scientific evaluation systems for monitoring vaccine safety.