SHILLONG, June 23: The High Court of Meghalaya said the vaccination orders issued by the deputy commissioners should be seen as a “persuasive advisory” and not coercion while directing all shops, commercial establishments and passenger vehicles to indicate the vaccination status of their staff.
The status should be displayed prominently at a conspicuous place on signs reading “vaccinated” or “not vaccinated”, the court said on Wednesday after hearing a petition challenging the DCs’ orders.
The orders of the DCs made it mandatory for shopkeepers, vendors, local cabbies and others to get vaccinated before they resume their business.
The two-Judge bench of Chief Justice Biswanath Somadder and Justice HS Thangkhiew said the actual dimension of the signs, “vaccinated” or “not vaccinated” and the conspicuous place where such sign is required to be affixed or displayed shall be decided by the authority concerned of the state.
“In the event, any shops/establishments/local taxis/auto-rickshaws/maxi cabs and buses flout the above directions, the concerned authority of the State shall immediately direct its closure/stoppage of plying,” the court ordered.
On vaccine hesitancy, the court said the issue is required to be dealt with by the state government in the manner specified in its new guidelines issued on Tuesday by the Principal Secretary, Health department.
The order said the court would monitor the issue closely so that the government is able to overcome the vaccine hesitation problem at the earliest and all eligible persons in the state are vaccinated well within the timeframe as may be specified by the state.
The court also said that if there is any attempt made by any person or organisation to spread misinformation regarding the efficacy of vaccines among the people of the state, the authority shall immediately step in and proceed in accordance with law. The authority concerned of the state has been asked to bring such instances to the court’s notice.
Earlier, Advocate General (AG) Amit Kumar drew the court’s attention to certain guidelines issued by the Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare department on June 22 to all DCs on the measures required to be taken for addressing the issue of vaccine hesitancy.
Following perusal, the court concurred with the observation of Principal Secretary, Health that for public health administration, a state like Meghalaya faces distinct challenges while mobilising people and introducing any new interventions.
In such situations, the approach towards effecting any kind of behavioural change needs to be ‘adaptive’ in nature, meaning thereby that the people need to be mobilized and convinced to see the impact of the new intervention for greater acceptance among the communities, the court said.
It referred to the seven-point fresh guidelines issued by the Principal Secretary, Health, that are required to be considered for effecting change in the Covid vaccine compliance in the state.
According to the court, the Principal Secretary has clearly stated that the existing orders on vaccine compliance may be modified in the light of the new policy directions as spelt out in the guidelines dated June 22 and requirement of vaccination should be “directory” and “not mandatory”. “This, in our view, is a step in the right direction,” the order said.
The Advocate General had pointed out that the order issued by the DC, East Khasi Hills, on June 22 was in sync with the new guidelines issued by the Principal Secretary. “We are of the view that this order is required to be complied with by all shops/establishments/local taxis/auto-rickshaws/maxi cabs and buses, forthwith,” the order reads.
With regard to the case pertaining to the method of implementation of government welfare schemes for the marginalised section of the society, the AG placed before the court an order dated June 22, 2021 issued by the Chief Secretary. The court requested the Registrar General to intimate the Member Secretary of the Meghalaya State Legal Services Authority, Shillong, with regard to the order dated June 22.
The court also said that the Member Secretary shall bring the said order to the notice of all Secretaries of the District State Legal Services Authorities, who will enquire and find out if the departments concerned are actually taking steps to ensure that the government welfare schemes for the marginalised section are being properly and effectively implemented in a time bound manner in accordance with the guidelines of the respective schemes.
“The Secretaries of all the District State Legal Services Authorities shall submit their respective reports to the Member Secretary, Meghalaya State Legal Services Authority, Shillong, within a period of four weeks from date so that the Member Secretary can compile the same and place the compilation before this court through the learned Registrar General,” the order further reads.
The matter has been listed for hearing on June 30.
