The Mizoram government’s standard operating procedure (SOP) debarring unvaccinated people from venturing out or eke out a living is akin to putting them under house arrest against the provisions of Article 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution, the Gauhati High Court has said.
A division bench of Justice Michael Zothankhum and Justice Nelson Sailo observed on July 2 that there is nothing to show the vaccinated persons cannot be infected with COVID-19 or that they cannot be spreaders.
‘All can be spreaders’
“It has been brought to our notice that even persons, who have been vaccinated, can still be infected with the COVID-19 virus, which would in turn imply that vaccinated persons who are COVID-19 positive, can also spread the said virus to others…
“If vaccinated and unvaccinated persons can be infected by the COVID-19 virus and if they can both be spreaders of the virus, the restriction placed only upon the un-vaccinated persons, debarring them from earning their livelihood or leaving their houses to obtain essential items, is unjustified, grossly unreasonable and arbitrary,” the court observed.
It said there is no reason to discriminate only against the unvaccinated people if the vaccinated and the unvaccinated cover their faces with a mask according to COVID-19 appropriate behaviour.
The High Court said since the SOP requires all persons to adhere to the protocols, there should not be any discrimination against the unvaccinated as the protocols are also applicable to them.
