COVID19- Prioritize Vaccination, Ensure That Vaccination Centres Are Accessible To Persons With Disabilities: Madras High Court Directs TN Govt.

The first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy directed the state government to give priority to such persons suffering from a disability, irrespective of whether such person has attained the age of 45.

However, the Court gave the Government the liberty to decide within 3 days, in consultation with the Union, if necessary, as to what would be the minimum appropriate age for a person to be vaccinated.

The matter before the Court

The Court was hearing the plea by one Meenakshi Balasubramanian, who prayed for issuance of Writ of Mandamus to direct the Union Of India to include Persons with Disability and their caregivers as a priory group for administering the COVID-19 vaccine.

The petitioner sought to make out that persons with disabilities are more vulnerable and claimed that they were at least six times more at risk than others.

The petitioner suggested that the age restriction that was otherwise in vogue, should not be applied to persons with disabilities

At the outset, the Court noted,

"Unfortunately, the complete lack of action on the part of the Union has delayed the matter and only today certain documents have been filed on behalf of the Union."

However, the State agreed to provide a separate counter at all vaccination centres run by the Government all over the State to vaccinate only persons with disabilities.

The Court also recorded the statement of the State that all Government vaccination centres would have a separate counter throughout the day when vaccination is undertaken at such centres exclusively for persons with disabilities.

"At any rate, persons with disabilities should be given priority in being vaccinated even if the numbers do not warrant an exclusive counter being set up at every Government vaccination centre," the Court further added.

The Court also emphasized that every care should be taken to obtain information and arrive at a reasoned decision as to the appropriate age before the vaccination is opened up to persons suffering from disabilities or the kind of disabilities indicated in the relevant document relied upon by the Union.

Further, the Court also advised the State to consider administering the vaccine to persons above the age of 18 but suffering from any form of disability as indicated in the Schedule to the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 instead of confining it to the disabilities indicated in the Union's annexure.

Lastly, the Court also said,

"Immediate steps should be taken by the State to ensure that vaccination centres are accessible to persons with disabilities by constructing ramps or other measures in accordance with the said Act of 2016."

Case title - Meenakshi Balasubramanian v. The Union of India and another [W.P.No.2951 of 2021]

Click Here To Download Order

Read Order