Karnataka HC says "no vaccine, no entry to school, colleges for students, teachers, staff"
HC was hearing PIL filed by Mangaluru doctor Srinivas B Kakkilaya, others
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Saturday observed that no student above the age of 18 years, teachers, and staff can be allowed to attend schools and colleges unless they have received at least one jab of the COVID vaccine.
The division bench comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum was hearing a PIL filed by Mangaluru doctor Srinivas B Kakkilaya and others. The bench dismissed the PIL and said at least one dose of the COVID vaccine should be mandatorily taken by those attending schools and colleges.
The PIL had claimed that the circular issued by the state government on July 16, 2021, making vaccination mandatory in nature was in violation of fundamental rights as guaranteed under Articles 14 and 19 (1) (g) of the Constitution of India.
It had also added that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has maintained that the vaccination does not prevent the spread of the virus hence has little potential of stopping the pandemic.
According to the petitioners, such discrimination based on unreasonable classification, such as status of vaccination of an individual, is curbing the rights to practice any profession. The petitioners further claimed that the circular violates the dictum of the Supreme Court in the Common Cause Vs Union of India (2018) case which recognized the right, choice, and liberty of an individual to prefer the medicine of his/ her choice.
“We are of the considered view that no student, teacher or staff who have not received vaccines shall be permitted to attend the school or college, where the students gather in large numbers and risk them. As such no directions can be issued to permit such teachers, students, or staff who have not received at least one dose of vaccine to attend colleges in terms GO dated July 16, 2021,” the court said.
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Ensure paid holiday for postal staff on polling day in Kerala: John Brittas writes to Scindia
New Delhi (PTI): CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas on Sunday wrote to Union Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia, seeking his urgent intervention to ensure that postal employees in Kerala are granted a statutory paid holiday on April 9 for the Assembly elections in the southern state.
In his letter, Brittas expressed serious concern over the Kerala Postal Circle’s instructions to treat all postal employees as “absentee voters in essential services (AVES)”, directing them to opt for a postal ballot within an “extremely limited” timeframe.
The Department of Posts operates under the Ministry of Communications. Along with the Department of Telecommunications, it is one of the two main sections within the ministry headed by Scindia.
In his letter, Brittas pointed out that the circular dated March 19 required the collection of Form 12D by March 20 (Eid al-Fitr), and submission of the compiled details at the respective collectorates by March 22 (Sunday), both holidays in Kerala, making meaningful compliance difficult and raising apprehensions about the “arbitrary” nature of the directions.
The CPI(M) leader also pointed out that the Election Commission, in a communication dated March 16, reiterated the requirement under Section 135B of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, that every person employed in any establishment and entitled to vote shall be granted a paid holiday on the polling day, without any deduction or abatement of wages.
He said even where certain services are treated as essential, the long-standing administrative practice has been to maintain only minimal required operations on polling day, without denying employees the opportunity to vote in person.
Brittas argued that in some other states going to polls this month, including Assam, most postal employees have been granted a holiday on polling day, in accordance with the statutory provisions.
During the 2021 Kerala polls, postal establishments had observed a holiday on polling day, subject only to limited essential arrangements, he claimed.
The present deviation, Brittas said, raises concerns about inconsistency in the application of law and the avoidable curtailment of the democratic rights of employees.
Stating that the right to vote lies at the core of India's democratic framework, Brittas urged Scindia to examine the matter urgently.
“Given the proximity of the polling date, I earnestly seek your kind indulgence to have the matter examined on priority, and to issue urgent directions to the postal authorities in Kerala to ensure that the statutory entitlement of postal employees in Kerala to a paid holiday on the day of polling is duly ensured,” Brittas said in the letter.
The 140 seats in the Kerala Assembly will go to polls on April 9, and the results will be out on May 4.
