Kerala HC Dismisses Petition Protesting Against PM Modi's Photograph On Covid-19 Vaccination Certificate

The Kerala High Court (HC) has asserted that citizens should not be so intolerant that they cannot even withstand the Prime Minister’s (PM) photograph on the Covid-19 vaccination certificate, Hindustan Times reports.

Following a rejection from a single-judge bench, the petitioner challenged the verdict and moved the matter to a division bench, which dismissed the appeal as well.

The division bench, made of Chief Justice S Manikumar and Justice Shaji P Chaly, expressed that they failed to understand how the PM’s photograph interfered with the appellant’s fundamental rights.

“In our considered view, it would never interfere with the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed to a citizen within the framework of the Constitution of India. The rights guaranteed thereunder cannot be treated so wafer-thin and so peripheral and hence citizens cannot be intolerant to the extent that they cannot withstand printing of the photograph of the Prime Minister in a certificate,” the division bench observed, as reported by the aforementioned publication.

Back in December 2021, the single-judge bench had dismissed the concerned petition, claiming that it was ‘frivolous’ and filed with ‘ulterior motives’.

(With inputs from PTI)