Shivangi Prakash-
A PIL seeking forced licensing of Covid-19 vaccines under the Patents Act was denied by the Rajasthan High Court’s Jaipur Bench.
Justices Sabina and Manoj Kumar Vyas of the Division Bench said that the subject is a policy problem that should be decided by the executive and that the Courts should not get involved.
The Petitioners had gone to the High Court because they were concerned about vaccination scarcity in the State. They demanded information on the government’s plans to increase vaccine production capacity in both private and public sector units.
They demanded that the Central Government provide mandatory vaccine licenses under Section 92 of the Patents Act. It was also suggested that the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) be ordered to divulge trade secrets about vaccine manufacturing processes to scale up vaccine production.
To avoid a vaccine scarcity, the Petitioner requested that the Centre identify possible State-owned vaccine manufacturers.
However, the Court observed that “After hearing petitioner No. 2, we believe that no ground for interference while exercising extraordinary writ jurisdiction, is made out as the issue involved in the present case relates to a policy decision to be taken by the respondents.”