The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the Union government to frame a policy to ensure that those who suffered adverse side effects of the Covid-19 vaccine are fairly compensated, Bar and Bench reported.

The court said that the policy must be on a no-fault basis, which refers to a provision in law or insurance where the compensation for injuries, losses or damage is provided irrespective of who caused it.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta passed the directive on a writ petition filed by a couple who have claimed that their daughters died to adverse effects of the vaccine, Live Law reported.

The plea sought an investigation by an independent committee into the deaths of their daughters, along with directions to release autopsy and probe reports expeditiously, Bar and Bench reported.

The petition also urged that the parents be monetarily compensated, and sought directions to the government to frame guidelines for early detection and treatment of persons suffering from adverse side effects of vaccines.

On Tuesday, the court also held that existing mechanisms for monitoring adverse events following immunisation be continued and directed data to be placed in the public domain periodically, Bar and Bench reported.

The court clarified that the introduction of a compensation scheme should not be viewed as an “admission of liability” on the Union government’s part.

Further, the bench held that there was no requirement of setting up a new expert panel to examine the side effects of Covid-19 vaccinations.

“It is clarified that the judgement shall not preclude any person from pursuing remedy available in law,” the court added.

In September 2022, the Kerala High Court directed the National Disaster Management Authority to prepare guidelines for identifying deaths triggered by Covid-19 vaccination after-effects and for compensating the dependents of such persons.

The union government had then approached the Supreme Court, challenging the High Court order, by arguing that only Covid-19 was declared a disaster and not deaths linked to the vaccines administered against the disease.

The government had contended that this would mean there is no policy under the Disaster Management Act that grants compensation for such deaths, Bar and Bench reported. .

This plea by the Union government was heard together with the plea filed by the parents of two girls who died to due to side effects of the vaccine.

Also read: How India failed those who were harmed by the Covid-19 vaccine