MUMBAI, FEB 7: The Delhi high court has extended the stay against initiating any punitive action against pharmaceutical companies with respect to a list of eight drugs following a writ petition filed by the Bulk Drug Manufacturers' Association (BDMA). The stay will now continue till April 8, the expected date of the next hearing.The matter which came up for hearing on February 3 saw the respondentsthe Government and the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA)file their reply, though the matter was subsequently adjourned. The reply, however, apparently, only furnishes data with respect to two drugs. The BDMA had earlier alleged that these eight drugs (cefadroxil, cloxacillin, theophylline, trimethoprim, norfloxacin, salbutamol, ciprofloxacin and sulphamethazole) had been "wrongfully" included under the Drug Price Control Order (DPCO).
On January 7 this year, a division bench of the Delhi high court, comprising justice Devinder Gupta and justice JB Goel, had in an interim ruling, stated that, "Nopunitive action be taken against the members of the petitioner association based upon the inclusion of eight drugs within the ambit of price control." The BDMA represents over 300 domestic drug companies.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.