Bombay High Court Grants Bail To Hospital Owners, Doctor In Fake COVID Vaccination Camp Case

Justice Bharati Dangre, while granting bail to Dr. Shivraj Pataria and Neeta Pataria, owners of Shivam Hospital, Kandivali in 8 cases, held –

“It is not the case of the prosecution that on account of the alleged vaccines found to be spurious, some death had taken place or any patient suffered from any adverse effect. Though the offence registered has serious repercussions and the consequences, which reflect that innocent common man, on the pretext of an authorised vaccine being administered to him, has shelled out his hard earned money only to find out that the vaccine was not genuine. Ultimately, this is a matter of trial and, undisputedly, if the prosecution prove it’s case during trial, the Applicants will take the necessary consequences.”

The court opined that the material shows Mahendra Singh of the Malad Medical Assocation as kingpin of the entire scam.

The Patarias, along with Dr. Manish Tripathi and his cousin Anurag Tripati are booked under relevant sections of IPC, IT Act, Epidemic Diseases Act, Disaster Management Act, and Drugs and Cosmetics Act in various FIRs registered with distinct police stations.

Dr. Manish Tripathi of the Shivam Hospital allegedly supplied fake vaccines to a vaccination camp organised at the Hiranandani Heritage Society. The complainant noticed that the seal of the vaccine vials was broken. 390 members of the society received vaccines but were not given the receipt for the payment. In total Rs. 4,56,000/- were paid for the vaccines to co-accused Mahendra Singh, according to the prosecution.

However, the certificates received by the society members was generated from different hospitals and contain dates different from the date of the vaccination camp, the prosecution alleged adding that the society members have not received the vaccine as per CoWIN portal.

The court noted the there is no complaint regarding vaccination certificate or fake vaccination in regard to the vaccines administered at the Shivam Hospital. Rather, the Patarias are allegedly involved in the vaccination camps held across Mumbai.

There was no allegation that the owners organised and planned the vaccination camps or were present in the camps, the court noted.

According to the statement of one Dr. Haresh Shah, co-accused Mahendra Singh provided him 38 vials of genuine Covishield vaccine and he returned the empty vials.

These 38 vials were allegedly used by Singh and Dr. Tripathi in administering fake vaccines in 12 vaccination camps across Mumbai. However, the prosecution alleged that the vials were acquired from Shivam Hospital. The court said that this will have to be cross checked with Dr. Shah’s statement.

According to the chemical analysis report of open vials seized from Shivam Hospital, it is unlikely that they contained COVID vaccine. The court noted that the charge sheet did not conclusively mention whether the vials were stored as per the prescribed guidelines for open vials. The court concluded that the chemical analysis suffers from a defective procedure.

The prosecution relied on a dinner party held at a hotel where all the accused and other staff members of Shivam Hospital were present. The court said that merely the accused gathering cannot lead to an inference of conspiracy as one of the camps had already taken place before this party.

The court further said that the prosecution has to establish that Rs. 25000/- received by the Pataria’s from Dr. Tripathi was a consideration for supply of fake vaccine in order to support its case against them.

Dr. Manish Tripathi is accused in 12 FIRs for administering fake vaccines at the Hiranandani Society and in a camp at Aditya College, Borivali. The court granted him bail observing that there is no allegation of monetary benefit and Mahendra Singh, who received money, is already out on bail.

Anurag Tripathi allegedly pretended to be a representative of Shivam Tripathi and collected AADHAAR data of employees of Inter Gold India Pvt. Ltd. in a vaccine camp where vaccines were provided by Dr. Tripathi. According to the prosecution, 1055 vaccine doses were administered but 992 employees did not receive the certificate. 48 certificates that were issued had discrepancy regarding the date of vaccine.

The court noted that there is no specific role attributed to Anurag Tripathi in the charge sheet and the prosecution has not alleged that he received any monetary benefit.

Thus, the court held that further incarceration is unnecessary in the wake of scanty material in the charge sheet against Anurag Tripathi.