Billionaire Bill Gates has been issued with a notice from the Bombay High Court over a case that alleges the Microsoft co-founder is responsible for deaths related to COVID-19 vaccines.
A petition was filed in the court by a father who said the vaccine killed his daughter, the Hindustan Times reported.
In relation to the case, the High Court also sent a notice to the Indian government (Maharashtra and Union government) and the biopharmaceuticals company Serum Institute of India (SII).
The petitioner, Dilip Lunawat, is seeking Rs 1,000 crore ($125,451,200) compensation after his daughter, Dr. Snehal Lunawat, died after receiving the Covishield vaccine.
Mr. Lunawat blames the government, Bill Gates, and others responsible for spreading misleading information about the vaccine’s safety.
Gates is accused of contributing to the government’s mandates that forced medical professionals to get vaccinated.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation also helped the Indian pharmaceutical company rush the vaccine into production.
Lunwat says his daughter was compelled to take the anti-Covid vaccine at her college in Nashik on January 28 last year.
He says she came under the category of health worker because she was a medical student.
Snehal was a doctor and a senior lecturer at SMBT dental college and hospital at Dhamangaon in Maharashtra.
She was vaccinated with Covishield, which is developed by the SII.
Days later, she suffered severe headaches and vomiting and was rushed to a hospital.
Doctors found she was bleeding in her brain, the petition said.
Lunwat says his daughter died as a result of side effects from the vaccine on March 1.
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 organization – the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation – had partnered with the SII to accelerate the process of manufacturing to deliver 100 million doses of the vaccine.
He also sought a response from the Union government, Maharashtra government, and the Drug Controller General of India.
Lunwat says he is seeking 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.
On August 26, a division bench of Justices S V Gangapurwala and Madhav Jamdar issued a notice to all the respondents in the petition.
The case has been scheduled for a hearing on November 17.
