HC refuses to stay HPV vaccine administration

The Delhi high court on Wednesday refused to stay the administration of the HPV vaccine Gardasil to 14-year-old girls under the Centre’s nationwide vaccination programme, saying there appeared to be “no instant harm” in continuing the drive

The Delhi high court on Wednesday refused to stay the administration of the HPV vaccine Gardasil to 14-year-old girls under the Centre’s nationwide vaccination programme, saying there appeared to be “no instant harm” in continuing the drive.

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A bench of chief justice DK Upadhyaya and justice Tejas Karia said that although the HPV vaccination programme began in 2006 and concerns were later raised, including by a Parliamentary Standing Committee, over six deaths allegedly linked to the vaccine, inquiries had found that none of those deaths was attributable to HPV vaccination.

The bench added that the controversy dated to 2010 and that the Government of India and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) appeared to have taken adequate precautions before proceeding with the programme.

The court, however, asked the Centre, ICMR and the Central Drug Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) to file their response to the petition filed by Dr Sujata Mittal challenging the vaccine’s inclusion in the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP), on the ground that it was being administered to schoolgirls aged around 14 without informed parental consent and without credible data establishing the vaccine’s efficacy or necessity for the target population.

“It appears that the Government of India, ICMR and other agencies have taken adequate caution. So your [Mittal’s] instant apprehension that they are going to include it in the UIP is no more. Today, we don’t see any reason for staying its administration. The data which has now been given to us suggests that there is no instant harm at the moment and, secondly, the apprehension was expressed that this will be part of UIP. That is not there,” the bench said to Mittal’s lawyer.

The order came after additional solicitor general Chetan Sharma, along with standing counsel Ashish Dixit, appearing for the Centre, submitted that the campaign was launched on February 28, 2026, for administration of the vaccine to girls aged 14 only. The law officer said more than 55 lakh doses of the HPV vaccine had been administered so far, with only 120 recipients reporting adverse events.

He told the court that no serious adverse event had been reported. Of the 120 reported cases, only 42 required hospitalisation for less than three days, while the remaining recipients experienced minor symptoms such as pain, nausea and fever.

The court also perused the Centre’s note, which stated that the HPV vaccination programme was being implemented in campaign mode and did not form part of the routine UIP. It added that the programme was voluntary and based on informed parental consent.

The note said consent is obtained through the U-WIN platform via an OTP-authenticated process, under which a parent or guardian must expressly approve the child’s registration after acknowledging the risks and benefits of the vaccine. A physical consent form is also available at vaccination sites for those who prefer it.

The note added that the consent process is a substantive safeguard and is further backed by the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.

In her petition, filed through advocate Rohit Kumar, Mittal alleged that the HPV vaccination programme is being implemented in schools and through the public health system without informed consent or prior parental approval. She further claimed that frontline health workers, including ASHA workers, are assigned enrolment targets, resulting in undue pressure on young girls to receive the vaccine. It added that serious concerns had earlier been raised regarding the safety and regulation of the HPV vaccine in India.

The matter will be heard next on October 29, 2026.