In fact, the apprehension that it is being used has been confirmed by recent reports that the two American promoters of the drug worldwide have said they would continue supplying it to Indian doctors till the Government issued a gazetted notification banning its use.

In India, quinacrine pellets are supplied by an organisation called International Family Health (IFH), which is headed by J K Jain, a former BJP MP.

The delay in issuing the notification has led to a public outcry and Health Minister Dalit Ezhilmalai told Parliament recently that the Government was in the final stages of processing the notification.

The apex court's decision on March 16 this year followed a public interest litigation filed bythe women's group, All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA), and the faculty of the Centre for Social Medicine and Community Health at the Jawaharlal Nehru University. The Drug Controller of India had informed the Court that it was in the process of taking steps to ban the import, manufacture, sale and distribution of quinacrine for use in non-surgical sterilisation of women.

No legal action can be initiated against those who continue to conduct quinacrine sterilisation since the Central and State governments need to prohibit its use first.

According to the Drug Controller of India, P Dasgupta, the process for the notification has been initiated. ``We are awaiting translation into Hindi,'' he said, explaining the delay.

Originally quinacrine was being used to prevent malaria. Later, a Chilean doctor found that when pellets of the compound were inserted in the uterus, they caused a severe inflammatory reaction, scarring and eventually causing sterilisation by blocking the fallopian tubes.

Thetwo American doctors who have been actively promoting quinacrine sterilisation in countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Vietnam, among other developing countries, on the ground that it is a low-cost, non-surgical answer to population control, are Stephen D Mumford and Elton Kessel. J K Jain gets his supplies from them.

Since the drug has been mired in controversy over its safety and efficacy, quinacrine sterilisation is not permitted in the US.

Quinacrine is not considered to be safe as a sterilisation agent because of evidence that it causes mutation of cells, encouraging cancerous growth. Since the blockage of the fallopian tubes is never complete, there is a higher chance of ectopic pregnancies endangering the lives of women, especially those in the rural areas who may not have access to emergency surgery.

In India, about 35,000 such sterilisations have been carried out in Calcutta, Baroda and Bangalore, mostly on impoverished, illiterate women. The irreversible sterilisations were conductedin a number of cases without obtaining the consent of the women or explaining the consequences of the exercise to them. ``Quinacrine sterilisations are quietly continuing though not as blatantly as before,'' says Mira Shiva of the Voluntary Health Association of India.

``This is an example of how the Supreme Court ruling is being subverted by vested interests,'' says Brinda Karat of the AIDWA. The delay is helping the cause of those who believe population has to be controlled at any cost, regardless of the irreversible damage and health hazard women are subjected to, she adds.