The Bombay High Court on Friday directed the Centre to approve within seven days the proposed action plan of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to re-vaccinate citizens who fell victim to fake anti-Covid vaccination camps. The court has also asked the police to complete the probe in 30 days and submit a report.
While directing the Centre, a division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice GS Kulkarni said the BMC’s plan of action must be approved “with or without modifications” within the given time frame.
The directions were issued after BMC counsel Anil Sakhare said the civic body had re-vaccinated only 161 of the 2,053 people who attended the fake camps, where they had been administered jabs of saline water. He told the court, “Of the 391 cases at Hiranandani in Kandivali, 363 people were traced and 161 were vaccinated.”
As part of the civic body’s proposed action plan, victims will be de-registered from CoWin so they can re-register on the portal and get the correct vaccine. “They cannot get re-registered without the Centre’s approval,” argued Sakhare.
Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh appearing for the Centre, however, said at this point de-registration from CoWin was not possible, but the government will look into it. “For the time being, the victims can re-register on the portal for vaccination,” he added.
The judges remarked that the Centre should have no objection to looking into the BMC’s plan. The HC observed, “…The victims can perhaps be granted fresh registration with some remarks identifying them for re-vaccination.”
Public prosecutor Aruna Pai had informed the HC that the first FIR in the case was registered in May this year at Kandivali police station. Earlier this month, she had said that a chargesheet was likely to be filed soon.
On Friday, Pai told the HC that while the police’s probe into the Kandivali FIR was complete, the chargesheet has not been filed as the police are awaiting a “chemical analysis report” from the Haffkine Institute. Asking to expedite the report, the HC observed that no one involved in the scam should be let off. The court also asked the police to place on record the probe report within 30 days. The HC will continue hearing the plea on August 30.
