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On Tuesday, the Supreme Court mandated that the Union government create a policy aimed at compensating individuals who have experienced adverse effects from the Covid-19 vaccine, as reported by a legal news outlet.

The court emphasized that this policy should be based on a no-fault principle, which ensures compensation for injuries or damages regardless of who is at fault.

A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued this directive in response to a writ petition submitted by parents claiming their daughters died due to vaccine-related side effects, according to another legal news source.

The petitioners requested an independent investigation into their daughters' deaths and urged the government to expedite the release of autopsy and investigation reports.

Additionally, the petition sought financial compensation for the parents and called for the establishment of guidelines for the early detection and treatment of individuals suffering from vaccine side effects.

During the hearing, the court also affirmed that current monitoring systems for adverse events following immunization should remain in place and that data should be made publicly available on a regular basis.

The court clarified that the establishment of a compensation scheme should not be interpreted as an acknowledgment of liability by the Union government.

Moreover, the bench stated that there was no need to form a new expert panel to assess the side effects of Covid-19 vaccinations.

"This judgement does not prevent any individual from seeking legal remedies available to them," the court noted.

In September 2022, the Kerala High Court had instructed the National Disaster Management Authority to formulate guidelines for recognizing deaths caused by Covid-19 vaccination side effects and for compensating the victims' families.

The Union government subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that only Covid-19 was classified as a disaster, not the deaths associated with the vaccines, claiming that no compensation policy existed under the Disaster Management Act for such cases.

This appeal was considered alongside the petition from the parents of the two girls who allegedly died due to vaccine side effects.