PIL Filed Before Bombay HC For Door-To-Door Vaccination Service For Senior Citizens & Differently Abled People

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• 2 Lawyers in Maharashtra named Kunal Tiwari and Dhruti Kapadia filed a PIL in Bombay High Court recently for door to door service of vaccines.
• The petitioners in their PIL sought directions from the court to direct the State government to provide covid-19 vaccine to senior citizens aged 75 or above and to differently-abled people at their doorstep.
• The petition is listed to be heard next week before a 2 judge division bench of Bombay High Court comprising of Chief Justice Dipankar Dutta and GS Kulkarni.

BACKGROUND DETAILS

• The petitioner cited reasons for which door to door service should be made available those are as follows:
• Many senior citizens don’t have an aadhar card or pan card which is made mandatory for registration of appointment for vaccination and thus this criteria should be dismissed.
• Some people are physically and mentally impaired also for such category of person door to door service should be made available.
• Some senior citizens who live independently and are unaware of the online procedure for registration for getting vaccinated should be provided with helpline numbers to register themselves.
• Waiting for hours in a long queue is also a problem faced by senior citizens.

FURTHER DETAILS

• The petitioners pleaded in their petition to direct the State Government to provide vaccines to bedridden senior citizens or for those who are unable to go to hospitals due to medical issues or age-related issues and differently-abled people.
• They also mentioned that the BMC had also written a letter to the State Government in this regard which would also help to increase the vaccination drive.
• The petitioners also suggested that for such doorstep service they can charge a fee of ₹500 to provide such citizens with covid vaccination.
• Lastly they pointed out that the rights under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution are violated by the respondents i.e. the State which guarantees the right to life and covers the right to health of such citizens.

What do you think about the plight faced by such citizens who are unable to get vaccinated? Comment below.