Serum Institute, Bill Gates get Bombay high court notice as petitioner claims Covishield killed his daughter

The petitioner demanded a compensation of ₹1,000 crore from the vaccine-maker as compensation for his daughter's death, who, he claimed, died as a result of the side-effects from Covishield.

The Bombay High Court has sought response from the Serum Institute of India (SII), Microsoft founder Bill Gates and others on a petition from a man who blamed side effects from Covishield as the reason behind his daughter's death, The petitioner has demanded a compensation of ₹1,000 crore from the vaccine-maker.

Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine maker, manufactured Covishield as a vaccine for the coronavirus disease.(Reuters)

Dilip Lunwat, the petitioner , a resident of Aurangabad, claimed that his daughter Snehal Lunawat, being a medical student, was compelled to take the anti-Covid vaccine at her college in Nashik on January 28 last year as she came under the category of health worker. Snehal was a doctor and a senior lecturer at SMBT dental college and hospital at Dhamangaon in Maharashtra.

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She had taken Covishield, which is developed by the SII.

Days later, she suffered severe headache and vomiting and was rushed to a hospital where doctors found bleeding in her brain, the petition said. Snehal died on March 1 as a result of side-effects from the vaccine, it claimed.

The petition relied on a report submitted by the Centre's adverse events following immunization (AEFI) committee on October 2.

The petitioner has also sought a response from Gates, whose foundation – the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation – had partnered with the SII to accelerate the process of manufacturing and delivering 100 million doses of the vaccine. He also sought a response from the Union government, Maharashtra government and Drug Controller General of India.

Lunwat sought justice for his daughter and “many more people who are likely to be murdered” due to similar cases of adverse effects, according to the petition.

A division bench of Justices S V Gangapurwala and Madhav Jamdar on August 26 issued a notice to all the respondents in the petition. The matter has been posted for hearing on November 17.

(With PTI inputs)