New Delhi: The Union government said in the Gujarat high court on Wednesday that an employee of the Indian Air Force (IAF) had been sacked for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine.
The government revealed this while responding to a petition by an IAF corporal from Jamnagar, who said it was his fundamental right not to get vaccinated, according to the Times of India.
News agency PTI reported that the Gujarat high court disposed of the plea by corporal, Yogender Kumar. However, the high court said the interim relief granted to the petitioner shall continue until his case is decided by the IAF, and the same shall not be implemented for two weeks from the date of service of the order to the petitioner.
Kumar had approached the high court seeking quashing of the show cause notice dated May 10, 2021. He also sought the court’s to issue a direction to the IAF to not take coercive action against him in furtherance of the show cause notice.
The petitioner had pointed out to the high court that the Union government had said that the vaccine is purely voluntary and not mandatory. In its reply to the petition, the IAF had said that vaccination is a service requirement and not a personal option for the Armed Forces, and taking the jab is necessary to “ward off the ill effects of biological weapons”.
The TOI report says that the sacked employee was based in Rajasthan and that the government did not divulge any more details. Assistant solicitor general Devang Vyas told the Gujarat high court that nine IAF employees who were reluctant to take the shot had been served show-cause notices asking them to “explain why their services should not be terminated for disregarding the order to get vaccinated”. While eight of the employees had replied to the notices, the one who had failed to respond was sacked.
Several courts have already said that vaccination cannot be linked to employment, government benefits and that it cannot be used to deny a person of their livelihood. The Meghalaya high court had in late June struck down an order that said shopkeepers and taxi drivers must be vaccinated before they resume their work. In July, the Manipur high court said the practice of denying livelihood to people by linking their employment to getting the COVID-19 vaccine is “illegal”.
Also in July, the Gauhati high court granted an interim stay on an order by the Arunachal Pradesh government which said permits for developmental works in both the public and private sectors would be provided only to people who are vaccinated against COVID-19.
The high court noted that the Union health ministry had said that vaccination is not mandatory, but voluntary. The petitioner had informed the court that the government had told the Lok Sabha that there is no provision of compensation for recipients of COVID-19 vaccination against any kind of side effects or medical complication that may arise due to inoculation.
(With PTI inputs)