Should everything stop until India is vaccinated, asks Bombay high court

NAGPUR: “Should everything be stopped till entire country is vaccinated,” asked the Nagpur bench of Bombay high court of the MBBS students on Friday.
The oral poser came while hearing a plea by NGO Herd Foundation and a physiotherapy student challenging Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) May 19 circular to conduct winter examinations in offline mode.Over 45,000 students across the state would be appearing in the papers commencing from June 10 at 173 centres. The exam has been deferred thrice on April 19, May 15 and June 2 due to the Covid-19 second wave.
Reserving the case for pronouncing the verdict on Saturday, Justice Avinash Gharote asked petitioner’s counsel Rahul Bhangde assisted by Dhruv Sharma that even those over 45 years aren’t getting the vaccines then how could these students bypass everyone. “Getting infected is the risk all of us carry and the doctors face greater one,” he said.
In their PIL, the petitioners have made the Union ministry for health and family welfare, state health department, and National Medical Commission chairman, besides MUHS vice-chancellor as respondents.
Not only have they prayed for online exams, but also demanded to vaccinate all 45,000 students along with entire teaching and non-teaching staff conducting them, if MUHS wishes to hold offline papers. They also opposed move of asking the students to sign an undertaking that MUHS wouldn’t be having any responsibility, if they contracted the disease during exams.
Pointing out that over three 35 lakh lives were lost due to Covid-19 pandemic across the globe, Bhangde strongly argued that if offline exams are conducted it posed a risk to all 45,000 students.
“If exams led to even 10 fatalities, are those worth it? We have to weigh both sides. Due to the pandemic, the structures of families have changed. Students have lost one or both parents. Do we want to put them at risk or can we wait for them to be vaccinated,” he asked.
Citing a recent statement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the health and safety of students is of utmost importance and there would be no compromise on this aspect, Bhangde said the government has a paramount duty to protect citizens as per the Constitution of India.
“The first phase of the exam was for postgraduate students, while the second was for final year, where all of them were inoculated. Therefore, all these 45,000 should also be given a jab before the offline papers. They aren’t afraid of exams, but they should be vaccinated first,” the counsel contended.
MUHS counsel Abhijit Deshpande said two phases of winter exams were already over and only third was remaining. “Even the question papers have been dispatched and we are taking all precautions. We have also floated a Suraksha Kawach Scheme for the examinees and staff in case of unfortunate death of anyone. If they are afraid of coronavirus, how will they treat patients? Only one student, who is not pursuing MBBS, has approached HC out of 45,000,” he said.
He pointed out that the students were informed in October last year that the theory examinations would be held physically, but they moved HC only on May 29. “If exams are deferred, the entire calendar will collapse. The petitioners can’t hold up the careers of 45,000 students. Vaccination may take another six to seven months to reach them,” Deshpande said.
The government said they had granted a choice to the students to skip the papers and directed MUHS to strictly follow SOP while holding the papers. Deshpande further pointed out that the principal seat had disallowed urgent interim relief to medical students last year.
Bhangde then contended that if the students were not being allowed to take admissions to foreign universities without vaccination, why MUHS students couldn’t be inoculated first?