HC seeks details of pharmacy stores, personnel

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has sought details from the state government as to how many pharmacy shops are registered in the city and in the state, and how frequently are they being inspected to confirm whether they follow the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act as also the Pharmacy Act.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Hima Kohli and Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy issued the order while dealing with a PIL filed by  pharmacist Seetharam Babu. Babu complained that most of the pharmacy establishments in the state and Hyderabad are not deploying the trained and registered pharmacists.

According to the petitioner, provisions of the relevant law contemplate that pharmacy establishments must have a registered pharmacist with full-time working. Yet, “stores are running in the absence of qualified pharmacists and most medicines are supplied without due checks and also without prescription from doctors. Untrained persons are impersonating as pharmacists in most medical shops, the petitioner told the court.

The government has filed an affidavit, but, it lacked details as to how many pharmacy stores were registered and how many trained pharmacists were registered in the state.

The bench sought relevant details and said these should be submitted within four weeks. The case was adjourned to  June 24.