The Madras High Court has directed the Health Ministry and CDSCO to expedite the process of finalising a policy for the online sale of medicines and notify it at the earliest. Image for representation purposes only. File
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The Madras High Court has directed the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare as well as the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation to expedite the process of finalising a policy for the online sale of medicines and notify it at the earliest.
A Division Bench of Justices S.M. Subramaniam and C. Kumarappan made it clear that till then, only licensed druggists and chemists could indulge in online sales and that the competent authorities must initiate action in the event of any violation.
The orders were passed while disposing of a batch of writ appeals filed by some of the e-pharma firms in 2018. They had challenged a single judge’s order which banned online sale of medicines till the Centre notifies the statutory rules to regulate the trade.
However, in January 2019, a Division Bench of Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and P. Rajamanickam (both retired) had stayed the operation of the single judge’s order while admitting the present appeals and permitted the e-pharma firms to continue online sale.
When the 2018 appeals were taken up for final hearing by the Bench led by Justice Subramaniam, senior standing counsel for the Central government, N. Ramesh, said the policy on online sale of medicines was yet to be notified since the Centre had to hear many stakeholders.
He also brought it to the notice of the court that a similar case was pending before the Delhi High Court where a Joint Secretary from the Health Ministry had appeared in person on March 4 this year and assured the court that the policy would be notified within four months.
After taking note of the official’s submission recorded by the Delhi High Court, the Madras High Court disposed of the appeals pending before it for the last five years with a direction to the Centre to expedite the process.