Employer can’t insist for Covid vaccination, says Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court recently directed that Covid-19 vaccination cannot be insisted upon by the employer in a plea filed by a schoolteacher seeking liberty to attend school, mark attendance, conduct teaching, and other responsibilities designated upon her without forcing her to take a vaccine.

A bench of Justice Prathiba M Singh allowed the teacher to make representation to the concerned authority in relation to the service benefits and asked the authority to take the decision within 30 days.

The order has been passed in a plea filed by Isha, a Government Girls Senior Secondary School History lecturer seeking a declaration that she should be allowed to attend the school, conduct teaching, and undertake other responsibilities without being forced to take a Covid vaccine.

The bench noted that the issue related to non-vaccination has already been considered by the Supreme Court in Jacob Puliyel vs Union of India & Ors., and by the Delhi High Court in Narendar Kumar vs Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi.

Noting this, the High Court said, “In view of the above-mentioned orders relating to similar fact situations, the present petition, along with all pending applications, is disposed of with the direction that Covid-19 vaccination cannot be insisted upon by the employer, in terms of the various orders passed above.”

Additionally, the bench also observed that in any case, the teacher has now been vaccinated as well. Therefore, the bench added that only issues that remain in the petition are related to service benefits. Upon this, the court asked the concerned authorities to take a decision on the issue of service benefits within 30 days.

All pending applications in the case were disposed of by the court, which ruled that employers cannot “insist” that employees receive vaccination.

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