Covid Vaccine: SC to Hear PIL Seeking Inclusion of Lawyers, Judges and Court Staff as Frontline Workers

Supreme Court to Consider PIL Seeking Inclusion of Judges, Lawyers, Court Staff in COVID Vaccine Priority List 

On Monday, The Supreme Court said that it will consider a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking to include lawyers, judges and court staff in the COVID vaccine priority list.  

Advocate Amik Khemka, appearing for the petitioner said police, security forces, revenue officials- all of them have been given the priority but whatever they do, it all culminates in the judicial system. Lawyers, Judges and judicial staff are not included in the priority list for the COVID vaccine.  

The bench also comprising of Justice AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian said that they would consider the petition. The bench posted the date of the matter after two weeks as the counsel requested for a near date. The Supreme Court Bar Association had earlier written to the Union Law Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad seeking to include the legal fraternity in the category of ‘frontline workers’ for COVID vaccine. Judges, judicial staff and members of the legal fraternity should be included in the category of frontline workers to get appropriate remedial measures to prioritise and extend this vaccination programme to this class of our citizenry, the letter requested.  

A bench headed by the Chief Justice of India, SA Bobde posted after two weeks of the filing of the petition by Arvind Singh saying that judiciary and lawyers should also be regarded as frontline workers like doctors, police etc and should be prioritized for the vaccination for coronavirus.