States like Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra in the Supreme Court on Tuesday justified their hardened stand to make COVID-19 inoculation mandatory, even at the cost of denying people their rights, by saying that it was better to err on the side of caution to prevent serious or irreversible harm to the public when there was insufficient information about the virus.
“It is trite that when there is not enough information, it is better to err on the side of caution to prevent serious or irreversible harm,” Tamil Nadu told the court.
The State said the vaccine mandate, issued through a circular in November last, was backed by law and designed to nudge the public into getting vaccinated to stop the spread of the disease.
