Allahabad High Court Grants Bail To Student On Internship Accused Of Violating COVID Vaccine Clinical Trial Rules

The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday granted Bail to a student who has been accused of violating the COVID Vaccine clinical trial rules and involved in administering vaccines allegedly without having the required documents/papers/permission.

The Bench of Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav granted bail to one Sudhakar Yadav, a student of the fourth Semester of M.Sc. Clinical Research studying in Institute of Himgiri Zee University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

The Applicant had filed his bail plea in a case under Sections 420 IPC and Section 15(2), 15(3) of the Indian Medical Council Act.

The facts in brief (as per the prosecution's allegations)

In February 2021, the Medical Superintendent, CHC, Dadari came to know that in Gopal Pathology Lab, a free vaccination of Coronavirus of the general public was going on, and thereafter the matter was informed to the superior officer and the same was inquired by Dr Sanjeev Kumar and Drug Inspector Baghpat.

During the inspection, it was found that a free corona vaccination camp was being organized with the help of an NGO and when the investigating authorities entered the Lab one person was seen injecting the vaccine.

On a specific query, the person informed that he and other accused persons named in the FIR are employees of the Flores Hospital and who have been authorized by the Hospital for vaccination but when the Inspecting team demanded the paper to this effect, no paper in this regard could be produced.

Submissions made

The applicant's counsel argued that he was innocent and has been falsely implicated in the present case and that he was perusing the course of M.Sc, Clinical Research being run by a Dehradun bases University, under the supervision of Institute of Clinical Research India (ICRI).

It was further submitted that the applicant had been sent for an internship at Flores Hospital, Ghaziabad with the consent of ICRI.

It was specifically pleaded that the applicant had neither violated the clinical trial rules nor committed any offence by getting the volunteers convinced of vaccination in the clinical trial.

It was further submitted that at the Gopal Pathology Lab signature of the volunteers on the consent letter for clinical trial vaccination has been obtained and nothing has been concealed in getting the consent volunteers for vaccination and as such, no offence under Section 420 IPC was made out.

It is further submitted that from the allegations made in the FIR no offence under Section 15(2) and 15(3) of the Indian Medical Council Act is made out against the applicant. The applicant is in jail since 16.02.2021.

Court's order

Upon hearing counsel for the parties and recording and considering the complicity of the accused, the severity of punishment as well as the totality of facts and circumstances, at this stage without commenting on the merits of the case, the Court found it a fit case for bail.

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