Mangaluru doctor sends notice to Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa against the policy of compulsory vaccination

Dr Bevinje Srinivas Kakkilaya.

 

Dr Bevinje Srinivas Kakkilaya, the prominent Mangaluru-based physician and columnist who is an authority on issues of public health, has sent a notice to Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and four other top bureaucrats and politicians in the State against the policy of compulsory vaccination. The notice warns that the physician would “initiate necessary [legal] proceedings” if vaccination is made mandatory. Involved in issues of public health throughout his career, Dr Kakkilaya has been active in the fight against COVID-19 and has also written a book in Kannada titled Corona Hedaradirona (Let us not Fear Corona) (See “ Lockdown Created Unnecessary Fears ” ).

Dr Kakkilaya sent the notice through his advocate after Deputy Chief Minister Dr Ashwath Narayana said that “offline classes will resume in colleges after the completion of the first dose of vaccination for all eligible staff and students”. Dr Kakkilaya has stated in his notice that the “imposition of such rules [mandatory vaccination] is nothing else but violation of the fundamental right of the individual which is provided by the Constitution, but the same also amounts to the wilful violation of the judgments rendered by various High Courts”.

The notice refers to a judgment delivered by the High Court of Meghalaya (dated June 23, 2021) which stated that mandatory vaccination “affects an individual’s rights, choice and liberty”. The notice also refers to an official statement of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare which said COVID-19 vaccination was a voluntary exercise. “When such is the case, it is evident that the state cannot make it mandatory for students, teaching and non-teaching staff or parents to get themselves vaccinated before resuming offline classes,” states the notice.