Supreme Court To Consider PIL Seeking Inclusion Of Judges, Lawyers, Court Staff In COVID Vaccine Priority List

The Supreme Court on Monday said that it will consider a PIL seeking inclusion of lawyers, judges and court-staff in the priority list for COVID vaccine.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India posted after two weeks the petition filed by Arvind Singh saying that judiciary and lawyers should also be regarded as frontline workers at par with doctors, police etc and should receive priority for the vaccine.

Advocate Amik Khemka, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that the claim of judicial system for COVID19 vacccine has not been considered.

"Police, security forces, revenue officials- all these people have been given priority. But all these people, whatever they do, culminates into the judicial system. Lawyers, judicial staff, judges are not included in the priority list for the vaccine", the lawyer submitted.

The bench, also comprising Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, said that it will consider the petition. When the counsel requested for a near date, the bench posted the matter after two weeks.

Last month, the Supreme Court Bar Association had written to the Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad seeking the inclusion of legal fraternity among the category of 'frontline workers' for COVID19 vaccine. The letter requests for "Judges, judicial staff and members of the legal fraternity" to be included in the category of frontline workers "so that appropriate remedial measures are taken to prioritise and extend this vaccination programme to this class of our citizenry".

In the first week of January, the Drugs Controller General of India approved the use of two vaccines - COVISHIELD of the Serum Institute of India and COVAXIN of Bharat Biotech- for emergency restricted use.