Pune man approaches Bombay HC after Symbiosis university puts him on unpaid leave over Covid vaccination
India Today
A Pune man approached the Bombay High Court on Wednesday after Symbiosis university asked him to go on unpaid leave until he is fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
An employee of Pune’s Symbiosis university approached the Bombay High Court on Wednesday after the university asked him to go on unpaid leave until he is fully vaccinated against Covid. An email was sent out by the university’s Human Resources (HR) department in January asking all unvaccinated employees to go on leave without pay till they provide documentary proof of having completed their Covid vaccination.
Subrata Mazumdar (47) has worked at the university as a supervisor for more than a decade. Mazumdar said that in his 15 years of service he has never taken a leave from work due to medical illness. He said that he does not use allopathy medicines and only uses homeopathic medicines.
Mazumdar in his plea said that the email sent by his employer should be declared as unconstitutional and illegal. He demanded that he should be reinstated into his services and compensated for the losses incurred to him due to their actions.
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He said that he had received an email from Vidya Yeravdekar, the principal director of Symbiosis society in May 2021 asking for the vaccination status of employees and requesting compliance with Covid-19 regulations. Mazumdar replied to the email and conveyed his inability to get vaccinated due to personal health conditions.
However in January of this year, all employees including Mazumdar received an email from the university’s HR department asking them to go on leave without pay immediately. The employees were asked to remain on unpaid leave till they individually provide documentary proof of having completed the Covid vaccinations.
Mazumdar filed the petition in Bombay High Court against Yeravdekar and Bhama Venkatramani, the dean of administration and academics at Symbiosis. The plea said that the university’s actions violated the employee’s fundamental rights under article 14 (right to equality) and 21 (right to protection of life and personal liberty) of the constitution.
