Lekha G
The Supreme Court adjourned the hearing in a Suo Moto case pertaining to the distribution of essential supplies and services during the pandemic to May 13 due to the Control Room server being down.
A Bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, L Nageswara Rao and S Ravindra Bhat had assembled at 11 AM. However, due to technical glitches, the Bench was disconnected from the proceedings.
Justice Ravindra Bhatt said, “Server is down today. We will go through the affidavits and keep the matter on Thursday.”
The Central Government had filed an Affidavit late Sunday night regarding the vaccination programme in India and that the same conforms to the mandate of Article 14 and Article 21 of the Constitution of India, and therefore no interference by the Supreme Court was required.
Urging against judicial interference, the Centre’s Affidavit read, “Any overzealous, though well-meaning judicial intervention may lead to unforeseen and unintended consequences, in absence of any expert advice or administrative experience, leaving the doctors, scientists, experts and executive very little room to find innovative solutions on the go.”
The Centre further in its Affidavit stated that, “On an immediate front, the availability, augmentation and enhancement of vaccines and completing vaccination of vulnerable groups is the topmost priority of the nation.”
Justice Chandrachud during the hearing told SG Tushar Mehta that while he had the opportunity of perusing the Affidavit as he had received them on Sunday night, the other two members of the Bench had received it only on Monday morning.
Justice Bhat while adjourning the hearing further added that the judges required time to peruse the Affidavit filed by the Centre yesterday in compliance with the Court’s Order on 30th April.