The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a public interest litigation seeking safeguards in the nationwide rollout of the Human Papillomavirus vaccination programme for adolescent girls, permitting the petitioner to withdraw the plea after the bench voiced sharp skepticism.
A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, alongside Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, heard the matter brought forward by the Universal Health Organisation, a Delhi-based collective of medical professionals and academics. The petition claimed that the HPV vaccine impacts fertility and alleged that the ongoing immunisation effort was being conducted in the absence of adequate informed parental consent.
Bench Questions Challenge Against Endorsed Vaccine
During the hearing, Justice Bagchi raised questions about the premise of the petition, observing that the World Health Organisation actively recommends the HPV vaccine as part of its global social medicine initiatives and questioning why medical professionals would challenge such a measure.
Petitioner Highlights Monitoring And Compensation Concerns
Appearing on behalf of the forum, Advocate Shivan Raghuwanshi maintained that the plea did not reflect an anti-vaccine stance. Counsel submitted that the challenge focused on procedural execution, specifically arguing that the rollout lacked an adequate mechanism to monitor adverse events and calling for the introduction of an adverse event monitoring system along with a compensation framework.
Following the critical remarks from the bench, the court permitted the organisation to withdraw the petition, formally bringing the proceedings to a close.
