The Delhi Government on Friday informed the Delhi High Court that the Central government has launched a campaign for door-to-door coronavirus vaccination drive across the country, which will be followed by all states and Union Territories.
The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh was dealing with a plea by an octogenarian seeking formulation of a door-to-door vaccination policy for super-senior and bed-ridden citizens in Delhi on an urgent basis.
Advocate Manan Aggarwal, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that though some states including Assam have undertaken to launch door-to-door Covid-19 vaccination campaign by the end of this month, no such statement has been released by the Delhi Government.
In the light of this submission, the Delhi High Court directed the Centre and the Delhi Government to file their response in the matter. “This is a delicate matter. You file an affidavit keeping in mind the argument of the counsel for the petitioner. You mention one paragraph about Delhi,” the Bench orally stated.
The matter is slated for further hearing on January 12, 2022. A PIL has been filed by 84-year-old woman Dhiraj Aggarwal through LawPretation legal counsel Manan Aggarwal. The petitioner belongs to vulnerable part of the population and is at high risk of being exposed to the Covid-19 virus if she goes to the vaccination centre. In addition, the petitioner is suffering from arthritis and is mostly bed-ridden.
Placing reliance on various print and online media publications, the plea contends that some states and UTs including Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand have started door-to-door vaccination campaign since past couple of months. Also, Singapore and Australia have put in place a system to vaccinate senior/bed-ridden citizens at their homes under the supervision of a team of a doctor and a nurse.
The petitioner sent a representation to the Union and the Delhi Government on May 22, 2021 to introduce a helpline number for registration of Covid-19 vaccine as also a policy for door-to-door vaccination. The plea avers that denial of these facilities to super-senior and bed-ridden citizens in Delhi is against the fundamental right to life of a citizen. In this regard, the plea seeks a direction to introduce a helpline number for Covid-19 vaccine registration and a door-to-door vaccination policy for super-senior and bed-ridden citizens in Delhi.