The Supreme Court to the Centre: Article 1 Says Bharat Shall Be A Union Of States

What Is The Case

• On Monday, the Supreme Court grilled the Central Government on the reasoning for its COVID vaccine dual pricing and procurement policy, as well as its departure from the National Immunization Program and its mandate of COWIN App registration.
• On May 31, a three-judge panel consisting of Justices D. Y. Chandrachud, L. Nageswara Rao, and Ravindra Bhat heard a suo moto case on COVID problems (In Re-Distribution of Essential Services and Supplies During Pandemic).

Details Of The Case

• "As per our estimate, from the domestic market, which is the Indian market, we expect the entire eligible population to get vaccinated by the end of this year," SG Tushar Mehta said at the outset, adding that there has been some progress on the vaccination front and that he will record the facts on affidavit.
• The Federal Government is also in active talks with Pfizer and other pharmaceutical companies. On a diplomatic level, the Minister for External Affairs and even the Prime Minister is communicating. It would be premature for me to say anything because nothing has been finalised. However, the Government has been really enthusiastic about it. The discussion has progressed to a fairly advanced stage.

Court’s Observation

• "Because it is a double dose, we will require around 226 crore vaccination shots. You'll have to make it available to the entire country. But the only point we'd like to make is about the dual pricing and procurement policies. We're trying to figure out why you're encouraging states to compete for the vaccination by picking it up from each other "Justice Bhat posed the question.
• Justice Chandrachud said, “ I was reading the Constitution. Article 1 says Bharat is a Union of States. When the Constitution says that we follow the federal rule. Then the Government must procure vaccine and distribute them.
• "We provided the explanation in my previous affidavit, which I will expand on in my future affidavit. Furthermore, it is incorrect to assert that the states are in competition with one another. There is no such thing as competition. Some states pay more and receive more, while others pay less and receive less—this is not the case ", the SG replied.
• The concern, according to Justice Chandrachud, is what is the basis for the Central Government to say that for those aged 45 and up, the Central Government will procure vaccines that will be provided free of charge, but for those aged 45 and under, State Governments will have their own logistical arrangements with manufacturers, and the remaining 50% of the procurement will be paid for by the states.
• The Judge went on to say that there are two concerns here: To begin with, while the Center claims that mortality in the post-45 age group is higher than in the pre-45 age group, in the second wave of the pandemic, not only the post-45 but also the pre-45 were significantly afflicted.

What do you think about this case?