JUDGMENT :

BISWANATH SOMADDER, J.

1. It has been brought to the notice of this High Court that the State of Meghalaya, through various orders of the Deputy Commissioners, has made it mandatory for shopkeepers, vendors, local taxi drivers and others to get themselves vaccinated before they can resume their businesses. Whether vaccination can at all be made mandatory and whether such mandatory action can adversely affect the right of a citizen to earn his/her livelihood, is an issue which requires consideration.

2. At the outset, it must be stated clearly and unequivocally that vaccination is need of the hour - nay, an absolute necessity - in order to overcome this global pandemic which is engulfing our world. However, the issue, as stated in the earlier paragraph, requires to be clearly answered.

3. In order to answer the issue, at first, we need to look at certain fundamental principles which govern the field.

4. Article 21 encompasses within its fold, right to health, as a fundamental right. By that same analogy, right to health care, which includes vaccination, is a fundamental right. However, vaccination by force or being made mandatory by adopting coercive methods, vitiates the very