A Division Bench of the Madras High Court comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy has observed in the case of M. Muruganantham v. The State of Tamil Nadu- that Municipalities and Municipal Corporation should take initiatives to vaccinate the people who are homeless, pavement dwellers and others who may not have access to the registration process.
"It is hoped that all Municipal Corporations and Municipalities and like bodies take the initiative to ensure that all homeless persons, pavement dwellers, and others who may not have any registration or other documents are administered the vaccine upon assessing their health conditions."
Facts of the Case
The Petitioner named M. Muruganantham filed a petition seeking directions to the respondents to take immediate steps to vaccinate homeless people and to protect them from Coronavirus, without demanding the production of any identity cards, considering the fact that they are homeless.
Court Judgment & Reasoning
The Court perused all the facts and held that,
"even if it is for the selfish interest of the rest of the population which may be better placed, it is necessary to vaccinate all, since those who are not vaccinated may be a risk to the others."
The Court also instructed the Municipalities and Municipal Corporation to take initiative to vaccinate these people at home so that no one can be left out from the vaccination drive. The Court has listed the matter on June 28, 2021, for the next hearing and ordered the State to file a status report on such aspect when the matter appears next.
Case Details
Case: - W.M.P.Nos.12876 of 2021, 21244 of 2019, 3818 of 2020 and 39889 of 2018
Petitioner: - M.Muruganantham
Respondent: - The State of Tamil Nadu & Ors.
Counsel for Petitioner: - Mr.M.Muruganantham
Counsel for Respondent: - Mr.R.Shunmugasundaram
Judge: Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy
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