Madras High Court declines to stay Centre's notification banning sale of drugs

Chennai: The Madras high court on Tuesday declined to stay the operation of a Centre’s notification prohibiting the sale and manufacture of 344 Fixed Dose Combination (FDC) drugs (nearly 10,000 brand names of medicine).

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M. M. Sundresh ordered notice to the Union and state governments on a petition filed by the Federation of South Indian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association, which sought to quash the notification dated March 10. The bench posted for June 2 further hearing of the case.

The bench said the petitioner’s senior counsel Vijay Narayanan, has drawn its attention to the order passed by the single judge of Delhi high court in terms whereof the effect of the same notification in question has been stayed and simultaneously it has been directed that no coercive steps will be taken against the petitioner and its stockists/agents.

“On consideration of the matter, we respectfully disagree with the view of the single judge of the Delhi high court and not inclined to pass an all-encompassing order. We are of the view that the mere fact of the sale of medicines for the last so many years ipso facto cannot call for the sale to continue when an expert body has gone into this issue. As to whether all procedural formalities have been followed or not, as also the provisions of the statute would be examined in the course of the proceedings. We are not dealing with a perishable commodity.

There is a shelf life. Further, the larger public interest would weigh in favour of not staying the effect of the notification. We, however, are inclined to give limited protection to the extent that no sales are made as per the notification. In the meantime, coercive steps be not initiated against manufacturers, stockists/agents, in view of the stock which would have already been manufactured”, the Bench said.

The federation submitted that no notice was ever served upon any of its members nor was any public notice inviting objections issued, rendering the entire exercise by the Union government arbitrary, unilateral and illegal.