The Kerala High Court on Tuesday, 21 December, while dismissing a petition that sought to remove Prime Minister Narendra Modi's photo from the COVID vaccination certificates, imposed a cost of Rs 1 lakh on the petitioner, calling the petition “frivolous” and “politically motivated”.
The judgment was given by Justice PV Kunhikrishnan, who, on being told that no other country had their PM’s photo on the vaccination certificate, said that “they may not be proud of their PMs, we are proud of our PM," news agency PTI quoted him as saying.
The petitioner, Peter Myaliparampil, who is an RTI activist, had claimed that PM Modi's photo on the certificate, even when a person had paid for the vaccine, was a violation of fundamental rights, and served no purpose or utility.
Myaliparampil also challenged that since the certificate had private details, the photo was an intrusion.
The high court however asked the petitioner, "Why are you ashamed of the Prime Minister? He came to power through the mandate of the people...we may have different political views, but he is still our PM”.
The high court further remarked, "Till the next general election, he will be the Prime Minister of India. Nobody can say that a Prime Minister is a Congress Prime Minister or a BJP Prime Minister or the Prime Minister of any political party. Therefore, according to me, it is the duty of the citizens to respect the Prime Minister of India”, Bar and Bench reported.
The court further advised that “the citizen need not be ashamed to carry a vaccination certificate with the photograph of the Prime Minister with a morale boosting message, especially in this pandemic situation.”
The petitioner has been asked to deposit the fine within six weeks to the Kerala State Legal Services Authority (KeLSA).
(With inputs from PTI and Bar and Bench.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)