Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Friday, Nov 15, 2002
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Friday, Nov 15, 2002 |
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Industry & Economy
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Courts/Legal Issues Government - Policy Karnataka HC asks Govt to spell out policy on life-saving drugs — Stays implementation of pharma policy Our Bureau
BANGALORE, Nov. 14 THE Karnataka High Court has stayed the implementation of the National Pharmaceutical Policy 2002 until the Centre comes out with a list of essential and life-saving drugs in consultation with the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. It has directed the Centre and the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) to frame suitable criteria to ensure that these critical drug categories do not get out of the price regulatory mechanism. The verdict delivered on Tuesday by a Division Bench consisting of the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court, Mr Justice N.K. Jain, and Mr Justice V.G. Sabhahit, upholds the contentions of a public interest litigation filed in May by two individuals challenging the implementation of the policy. According to the petitioners, Lt. Col. (retd) K.S. Gopinath and Dr B.V. Bhaskar of Bangalore, the policy announced on February 15 this year, if implemented, would remove essential and life-saving drugs from out of the purview of the Drug Price Control Order (DPCO) and this would be against public interest. They also contended that the DPCO as per the policy would be based on the sales turnover of a drug, and not the volume of its sales. Arguing for the Centre, the Additional Solicitor-General, Mr A.K. Gopalan, said the policy was framed to be in tune with the WTO agreements. The Centre would not be giving up its say over drug pricing. The judges ruled that the NPP, "if implemented with regard to price control will only bring the control of prices entirely at the whims and fancies of manufacturers. Further, the policy (with regard to price control) is arbitrary and unreasonable and would go against the Essential Commodities Act and Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. The policy defeats the very purpose of equitable distribution and availability of essential drugs at a fair price by bringing essential drugs into the basket of drugs under the impugned policy."
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