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The Ministry of Health and Family welfare has informed the Supreme Court that any specific classification based on trade or profession for carrying out vaccination programs would be arbitrary.

The Ministry's stand has come in light of a petition seeking priority to the legal fraternity for dispensation of vaccination program.

“…the fraternity of lawyers are requesting to be classified as frontline workers. Though the government has tremendous respect for the profession and the discharge of duties by these professionals for and on behalf of citizens of India, those lawyers and other associated staff who are either above 60 years or between the age group of 45 to 59 years and are suffering from very long and almost exhaustive list of comorbidities would, in any case, be covered by the vaccine drive.”
- the centre has said

A Full Bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde, Justice A S Bopanna and Justice V Ramasubramanian after hearing a Writ Petition praying for issuance writ of mandamus to Direct the Central Government to include Judges, court staff, lawyers and their staff in the prioritized group of population who will get the COVID-19 vaccine first has adjourned the matter for 18^th March, 2021.

“The purpose of the present Petition is to ensure that Judges, lawyers, court staff and the staff of the lawyers, who are also providing one of the essential services in the form of Judicial Administration, are included in the priority category of the group of population for administration of COVID-19 vaccine. Judges, lawyers, court staff and the staff of the lawyers ought to be treated at par with other essential service providers for the purpose of administration of vaccines.”, the plea filed by Advocate Arvind Singh states.

The petitioner in the plea submits that the Centre has not considered the claim of members of the judiciary, judicial staff, lawyers and their staff to be included in the priority category of the group of population for COVID-19 vaccine. In this context, the petition states that,

“Since the ‘Legal System’ is considered as the third pillar of the constitutional framework of our country and falls under the definition of ‘essential services’, without which a country cannot function, therefore, even during lockdown, Courts all over the country continued working, ensuring that the fundamental right 6 of access to justice guaranteed to all, is not taken away and restricted is any manner.”

The petitioner also contends that the Centre has identified the population group which are to be vaccinated first but the same is not based on any set criteria and apparently suffers from arbitrariness and non-application of mind.

“The ‘Operational Guidelines’ published by Respondents nowhere provides for any mechanism and criteria upon which such priority population groups have been identified, showing its arbitrariness. Even during the press briefings, the officials of Respondents did not mention any criteria which formed the basis of their identification of priority groups. The said decision of Respondents is ad-hoc and not based on a rational basis. Despite best efforts the Petitioner has not been able to find any document which has been published by the Respondents which show as to what material was considered and what deliberations were made by the Respondents to identify the priority population groups who would get the COVID-19 vaccine first.”

In the Counter Affidavit filed by the Union of India, the Respondents while urging for disposal of the plea on the ground that the same cannot be carried out as the the classification of citizens is already based on a ration and non-arbitrary criteria.

"In view of the aforesaid facts and circumstances, it may not be desirable to create a separate class consisting of lawyers and other below 45 years of age and discrimination persons engaged in other trade, profession or business and working under similar geographic conditions and circumstances as such classification would necessarily lead to discrimination as there are several other trade or business or professions who directly deal with the health, help and assist a common man to provide his day-to-day requirements and are working in small space with large number," the Ministry has contended.

Case title- Arvind Singh v Union of India & Anr |(Writ Petition (Civil) No 84 of 2021)