On 30th June 2021, Home Department of Government of Manipur issued a notice with the subject: Priority to vaccinated persons. It says “… it has been considered prudent to prioritize opening of institutions, organizations, factories, shops, markets, private offices etc. where its employees and workers are COVID vaccinated.”

Four days earlier, Chief Minister N Biren Singh announced that the state would start opening up offices and shops. However, only those who have vaccination certificates would be allowed to come out and carry out buying and selling activities.

Based on these statements, many government agencies and local COVID Task Force units have been threatening and coercing the public to get themselves vaccinated. Some concerned citizens are against this vaccine for some reason or want to wait till their doubts are cleared. This stance is informed by a lack of transparency in Adverse Effects Following Immunisation data, and the multiple contradicting opinions regarding safety and efficacy of these vaccines from scientists and doctors worldwide. Narratives around the COVID crisis has kept changing in the last one and a half years and it is natural for some people to have different understanding or to want to take time following the developments.

We see such coercion in the way of making vaccination compulsory or placing restrictions on unvaccinated persons as excessive unjust use of force. It is in contravention of our constitutional right to life, liberty, and bodily autonomy. Recent orders of the Gauhati High Court and Meghalaya High Court also upheld the right of the people to refuse vaccination and instructed the Mizoram and Meghalaya Government to revoke their orders placing such restrictions.

“The restrictions placed upon unvaccinated individuals vis-à-vis vaccinated individuals are arbitrary and not in consonance with the provisions of Article 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution. … There is nothing to show that vaccinated persons (first dose) cannot be infected with coronavirus, or they cannot be spreaders. As the vaccinated and unvaccinated persons would have to follow the Covid proper behaviour protocols as per the SOP, there is no justification for discrimination” Gauhati High Court in an Order dated 2nd July 2021.

“A harmonious and purposive construction of the provisions of law and principles of equity, good conscience and justice reveals that mandatory or forceful vaccination does not find any force in law leading to such acts being liable to be declared ultra vires ab initio.” Meghalaya High Court in an Order dated 23rd June 2021

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, on its website, also maintains that vaccination for COVID is voluntary.

With these concerns, we petition the Chief Minister of Manipur to facilitate a relevant corrigendum to the Home Department notice titled "Priority to vaccinated persons”, and to keep Manipur’s response to this crisis free from human rights violations.

If we don’t stand up for our basic right to our own body now, we would have lost it for ever.

It doesn’t matter if you yourself want to get the vaccine or not. The question is, do you want to safeguard the liberty to decide that for yourself or not?

If you do, please sign this petition.

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