On June 5, the Bombay High Court directed two individuals to take down defamatory posts against the Covishield vaccine manufacturer Serum Institute of India (SII) and its CEO Adar Poonawala. The SII and its CEO had filed a defamation suit claiming Rs 100 crore in damages.
The court also directed the individuals not to post further defamatory content. The SII and Adar Poonawala filed the suit against social media influencers – Yohan Tengra and Ambar Kori. The court said, “Having considered the contents, the statements are prima facie defamatory…there is no justification.”
The plaintiffs alleged that the influencers posted a series of defamatory content against Adar Poonawala, claiming that there are adverse effects of the Covishield vaccine. The vaccine manufacturer had sought a permanent injunction against these individuals.
The plaintiffs’ counsel, Senior Advocate Aspi Chinoy, submitted to the court, “People who are responsible for saving four million lives are now being branded as mass murderers. You may have your views but you can’t publish it in this manner.” The counsel further argued that the benefits of the vaccine far outweigh the possible adverse effects. As per the official data, 12 deaths were reported after 2.19 crores of Covishield vaccines were administered.
It was also submitted that the Union Ministry for Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) had issued an advisory that there was a minuscule but definitive risk of thromboembolic events with a reporting rate of 0.61 per million doses, after examining the Adverse Effects Following Immunisation (AEFW) data.
The plaintiffs’ counsel submitted that influencer Yohan Tengra was using petitions filed in various courts to start a “smear campaign” on his YouTube channel. The counsel submitted that the YouTuber was using four petitions – one before the Bombay High Court, one before Supreme Court and two before Kerala High Court – for the smear campaign.
It was also submitted that the defendants referred to the plaintiffs were referred as ‘murderers’ and ‘criminals,’ even though no adverse orders were passed in the petitions.
However, the defendants took the defence of truth. The defendants claimed that according to a study, the vaccine increased the risk of cancer and death. The defendants’ counsel Advocate Nilesh Ojha and Abhishek Mishra said, “Because of 1 death (by the vaccine), 21 countries in Europe banned the product and here my friend wants to glorify it.”
Justice Chagla remarked that the vaccine was administered voluntarily. The defendants’ counsel responded to the remark, submitting that the Maharashtra government had mandated vaccination for local train travel.
In 2022, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) head Dr Balram Bhargava, in a health briefing, asserted that deaths had been considerably reduced due to COVID-19 vaccinations in this third surge of the coronavirus infection. While addressing a Union health briefing, Dr Bhargava said, “Vaccines have remained beneficial in India. Deaths have considerably reduced due to COVID-19 vaccinations. In this third surge of COVID, we are currently not witnessing severe illness and deaths due to high vaccination uptake.”
