Supreme Court to central government: Did you consider digital divide?

Beneficiaries wait under a tree to receive Covid-19 vaccine, at a vaccination centre in Kolkata, West Bengal, on Monday. Pic/PTI

The Supreme Court on Monday pulled up the central government over its Covid-19 vaccination policies - mandatory CoWIN registration and procurement of vaccines. A special bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud, L N Rao and S Ravindrabhat questioned the need for making registration on CoWIN must for vaccination without keeping in mind the real ‘digital India' situation.

"You keep on saying the situation is dynamic but policymakers must have their ears on ground. You keep on saying digital India, digital India but the situation is actually different in rural areas. How will an illiterate labourer, from Jharkhand get registered in Rajasthan? Tell us how you will address this digital divide," the bench sought to know from Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. "For rural areas, you have said villagers can register on CoWIN through NGOs. Our law clerks and secretaries have tried to register on CoWIN, so we know how it works." The SC was hearing a suo motu case on management of Covid-19 situation in the country.

At the outset, it asked the Centre about its procurement policy by referring to the fact that states like Punjab and Delhi are in the process of issuing global tenders to procure foreign vaccines. It said that even BMC has received bids. "Is this the policy of the central government that the state or municipal corporation can procure the vaccine or the Union government is going to procure for them like a nodal agency? We want clarity on this and rationale behind this policy," it said. "Centre says it gets a low price since it buys in bulk. If this is the rationale, then why do states have to pay a higher price? There needs to be one price for vaccines across the nation. The pandemic has evolved in the last two months," Bar and Bench quoted Justice Chandrachud as saying.

India reported the lowest daily new cases in 50 days at 1,52,734, and saw 3,128 more deaths, as per the Centre's Monday morning data.

HC pulls up drug controller for letting Gambhir off the hook

"You can't take us for a ride. If you think we are so gullible, so naive, we are not," the Delhi High Court told the drug controller on Monday for not properly examining as to how BJP MP Gautam Gambhir procured huge quantity of Fabiflu, and said people's tendency to appear as saviours has to be denounced. The HC said its confidence in the drug controller has "shaken completely" and rejected as "trash" its status report on inquiry into procurement of the Covid-19 drug by Gambhir.

"There is a fundamental error of approach. The manner in which you have conducted the investigation is questionable," it said. The HC took strong exception to the drug controller's report, which concluded that the dealers had ample stock to supply to others. "Please don't tell us there is no shortage. We know there was a shortage." "You better do your job. If you can't do your job, tell us, we will have you suspended and let someone else do your job," a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh said.

It also pulled up Gambhir for again making a statement that he will continue to do such work. "We have already said it's a malpractice... And then the person goes on to state he would do it again. If it continues, we know how to deal with it," the bench said.

HC allows Central Vista construction

Describing the Central Vista project as "vital and essential", the Delhi HC on Monday allowed its construction. It imposed a fine of R1 lakh on - Anya Malhotra, a translator, and Sohail Hashmi, a historian and documentary filmmaker - for their "motivated" plea seeking to halt the work. A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh said the SC had upheld the legality of the project.

Also Read: Covid-19: Mumbai cases dive to 676, lowest in second wave

2,80,47,534
Total no. of Coronavirus cases in India so far

3,29,100
Total no. of deaths due to the virus in India so far

20,26,092
Total no. of active cases in India

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