SC directs Centre to frame no-fault compensation policy for serious adverse events post COVID-19 vaccination

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (March 10, 2026) directed the Union government, acting through the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, to frame a no-fault compensation policy for serious adverse events following COVID-19 vaccinations.

The judgment by a Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was based on a petition seeking compensation for ‘After Effects From Immunisation’ (AEFI) deaths allegedly caused by COVID-19 vaccination.

The apex court asked the government to follow the directions in the Jacob Puliyel judgment of 2022 which had instructed the Centre to set up a virtual public platform to facilitate individuals and private doctors to report adverse vaccine events without compromising their privacy.

“Information related to adverse events is crucial to create awareness about vaccines and their efficiency, apart from contributing to scientific studies about the pandemic… There is a pertinent need for collection of data on adverse events and wider participation,” the court had underscored in 2022.

The judgment pronounced by Justice Nath in court observed that the existing mechanism for monitoring adverse events following immunisation should continue and relevant data has to be be periodically placed in the public domain in accordance with the observations in Jacob Puliyel case.

It did not find the constitution of an expert body to scientifically assess cases of post-immunisation adverse events.

“This shall not preclude any person from pursuing such other remedy as may be available in law. Equally, formulation of the no-fault framework shall not be construed as admission of liability or fault on the part of the Union government or any other authority,” the top court said.

The judgment came in a writ petition filed by Rachna Gangu and Venugopalan Govindan whose daughters allegedly died due to adverse effects of COVID vaccination.

Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the parents, had argued in the hearings that the vaccine was forced upon the public, even on children, while the official version remained that taking it was “voluntary”. Non-immunisation was even criminalised at the time, Mr. Gonsalves had said. Suppression of information about the after-effects of the vaccine was institutionalised, he had submitted. Mr. Gonsalves said healthy people, like the petitioners’ daughters, aged 18 and 20, had developed severe brain clots after the vaccination and died.

The Centre had maintained that “holding the state directly liable to provide compensation under the narrow scope of strict liability for extremely rare deaths occurring due to AEFIs from the use of vaccines may not be legally sustainable”.

A government affidavit had said a total of 219.86 crore doses of COVID 19 vaccines were administered in the country till November 19, 2022. A collective 92,114 AEFI cases (0.0042%) were reported, of which 89,332 (0.0041%) were minor instances and 2,782 cases were serious and severe AEFIs (0.00013%). It had said the total deaths reported were 1,171.