The Supreme Court on Thursday questioned petitioners who alleged that the Indian government underreported deaths linked to adverse effects of Covid-19 vaccines, asking why they trusted data from the United Kingdom but doubted official Indian figures.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was hearing petitions, including one that claimed two women had died in 2021 after taking the first dose of the Covishield vaccine. The plea alleged that both women suffered severe adverse effects following immunization. The court has reserved its order in the matter.
Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, representing one of the petitioners, argued that while India administered nearly 30 times more vaccine doses than the UK, the reported adverse effects and deaths were “alarmingly low.” He said, “The difference is so large that there seems to be a worrying discrepancy between the UK, which is putting its data transparently, and India, which is hiding the data of deaths.”
Justice Nath responded, “You believe that the UK has uploaded all the data correctly on its website, and your country has not done it?” The bench further remarked, “You trust the data uploaded by the UK government but not the data provided by our government?”
Gonsalves clarified that the petitioners were only seeking an independent investigation by an expert body not affiliated with the government. “It is serious enough to warrant an investigation by a team independent of the government,” he said.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Centre, opposed the plea, stating that the issue had already been addressed by the apex court in earlier proceedings. She shared official data showing that India administered over 220 crore doses by December 2024.
“The total Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI) cases reported is 92,697, which is 0.0042%. The total deaths reported are 1,171 — just 0.00005%,” Bhati said, adding that most cases were minor and that vaccines significantly reduced deaths during the pandemic.
She further asserted that India has a “robust monitoring mechanism,” noting that while every drug may have side effects, individual reactions can vary.