The Supreme Court on Wednesday, 2 June, asked the Centre to provide complete data on its purchase history of COVID-19 vaccines till date including Covaxin, Covishield, and Sputnik V.
A three-judge bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud, L Nageswara Rao, and S Ravindra Bhat passed this direction in a suo motu case related to the management of COVID-19 in the country.
The apex court stated that the data provided by the government should clarify the dates of all procurement orders by the Centre for all three vaccines, as well as the quantity of vaccines ordered and the projected date of supply.
The SC also asked the Centre to provide an outline detailing its plan to vaccinate the remaining population in phases 1, 2, and 3.
"While filing its affidavit, UoI shall also ensure that copies of all the relevant documents and file notings reflecting its thinking and culminating in the vaccination policy are also annexed on the vaccination policy. Hence, we direct the UoI to file its affidavit within 2 weeks", the order said.
The Centre has also been asked to provide data on the percentage of India’s population that has been vaccinated with either one dose or both doses, which along with the data on the purchase of vaccines, needs to be submitted in an affidavit within two weeks. The SC has also asked for details on steps being taken by the Centre to ensure drug availability for mucormycosis.
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