Earlier, the Delhi and Kerala High Courts also declared that vaccines could not be made mandatory. The latest to follow suit is the Bombay High Court who told the Maharashtra government to withdraw ban on the unvaccinated using local trains.
Since the Covid-19 situation has indeed stabilized, the Bombay High Court recommended that the Maharashtra government revoke an August 2021 order and let unvaccinated people to commute the local rail.
It ordered the State to notify the court by tomorrow if it intends to retract the circular, and noted that prima facie due process had not been followed before issuing the order.
The bench of CJ Datta and Justice MS Karnik was reviewing two PILs seeking to overturn two circulars, one of which was issued by then-Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte and barred anyone who had not received both doses of the Covid-19 vaccination from riding the local train.
"The Chief Secretary has to withdraw the order. Whatever has been done by his predecessor ...