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2021 Supreme(Online)(KER) 851
P. G. Ajithkumar, J
PETER MYALIPARAMPIL – Appellant
Versus
UNION OF INDIA – Respondent
WP(C) NO. 21560 OF 2021
For the Appellants/Petitioners: AJIT JOY
For the Respondents: MANU S.
The inclusion of a Prime Minister's photograph in a vaccination certificate does not infringe on individual rights and serves a public health purpose during a pandemic.
Headnote:(A) Constitution of India - Article 19 - Right to freedom of speech and expression - Writ petition challenging inclusion of Prime Minister's photograph in vaccination certificate - Allegation of fundamental rights infringement rejected as frivolous, emphasizing respect for elected positions during a pandemic. (Paras 1, 8, and 17)
(B) Frivolous litigation - Court's discretion to impose costs on petitions deemed devoid of substantive issues or genuine intent. (Paras 17)
Facts of the case:
The petitioner challenged the inclusion of the Prime Minister's photograph in his COVID-19 vaccination certificate, claiming it infringed on his rights.
Findings of Court:
The court found the petition to be without merit and characterized the arguments as frivolous, emphasizing respect for state leaders.
Issues: Whether the photograph's presence constitutes an infringement of fundamental rights.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that a Prime Minister, as an elected leader, represents a collective will and that the inclusion of their photograph in a vaccination certificate serves a public health message during a pandemic.
Result: Writ petition dismissed with costs of ₹1,00,000.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. right to challenge government messaging in health certificates. (Para 1 , 2 , 3) |
| 2. arguments outlined against compulsory visibility of political imagery. (Para 4 , 5 , 6 , 7) |
| 3. court's rationale supporting governmental representation in health messaging. (Para 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16) |
| 4. frivolous petitions can incur costs to discourage misuse of the legal system. (Para 17) |
JUDGMENT
This writ petition is filed with a prayer to declare that affixing the photograph of the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India in the COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate of the petitioner is an infringement of his fundamental right. There is a further prayer to issue appropriate direction to the 1st respondent to issue the petitioner a COVID-19 vaccination certificate without the photograph of the Hon'ble Prime Minister in it, along with access to the COWIN platform, to generate such a certificate when needed.
Pleadings
2. The petitioner claims that he is an RTI activist and one of the State Coordinators of the National Campaign for the Peoples Right to Information (NCPRI). The petitioner also claims that he is an extension faculty of Kerala Institute of Local Administration and State Level master coach of the Jawaharlal Nehru Leadership Institute, New Delhi. It is the case of the petitioner that he was desirous of taking a vaccination against the Covid 19 pandemic. Since the Government of Kerala came out with a Government Order prohibiting non- vaccinated persons from visiting public places, the petitioner decided to get vaccination immediately. When the petitioner enter the COWIN (https://www.cowin.gov.in/) app/site and upon registration in the COWIN app, the petitioner secured a slot for a paid vaccination in a private hospital in Kottayam District at Kerala on 4.8.2021. It is the case of the petitioner that, at the time of entry into COWIN portal, the petitioner was exposed to the landing page showing the colour picture of the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India Sri.Narendra Modi, along with a message, "ARE YOU PROTECTED AGAINST COVID-19?" both in English and Hindi. The printout of the screenshot of the landing page of the COWIN site is marked as Ext P1 in this writ petition. The petitioner took the first dose of Covid 19 and he was administered with the COVISHIELD vaccine by paying an amount of Rs.750/-. It is the case of the petitioner that he was surprised to find that this certificate contains the colour photograph of the Hon'ble Prime Minister Sri.Narendra Modi! It is also the case of the petitioner that at the bottom half of the vaccination certificate, there is a message in the dual language of Malayalam and English with the words "MEDICINE AND STRICT CONTROLS" (in Malayalam) and "TOGETHER WITH INDIA WILL DEFEAT COVID-19" (in English). Below the above message, the name of the Hon'ble Prime Minister is mentioned. Ext P2 is the certificate. The petitioner produced Ext P3, the printout of the landing page of the website of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India and in it also a message has been widely mentioned as "largest vaccination campaign in the world" with a salute to the Hon'ble Prime Minister "Thank You P.M.Modi". It is the case of the petitioner that even on the birthday of the Hon'ble Prime Minister which was celebrated on 18.9.2021, a nationwide campaign was carried out calling for a record number of vaccinations to be administered as a gift to the person who was gifted free vaccines to India. Ext P4 is a printout of the screenshot of a Tweet of a Cabinet Minister in charge of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The petitioner also produced Ext P5 which is a report in Economic Times E-Paper dated 15.9.2021. The report says that University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked the Government funded Universities and colleges to display banners and hoardings on free vaccination for all adults and a message thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a free vaccination. Ext P6 is also a dire
