Watch | Vaccination Policy Flawed, Centre Batting for Manufacturers: Former Addl Solicitor General

In a scathing indictment of how the Central government’s vaccine policy has been rolled out so far, the Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre to disclose how the sum of Rs 35,000 crore – a figure announced in the Union Budget – was spent.

In a detailed and sharply critical set of observations, the bench comprising Justices D.Y. Chandrachud, L.N. Rao and S. Ravindra Bhat asked for clarifications on six points including pricing, supply of vaccines and a roadmap of projected availability of vaccines till December 31. The sharpest comment on the state of affairs seemed to be this sentence where the apex court wrote: "Courts cannot be silent spectators when constitutional rights of citizens are infringed by executive policies."

Mitali Mukherjee spoke with Vikas Singh, former Additional Solicitor General of India and president Supreme Court Bar Association, on what the top court said and what the repercussion for vaccine policy may now be. Singh has also appeared on behalf of the West Bengal government on the issue of vaccination policy announced by the Central government.

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