Madras high court stays order prohibiting sale of medicine online
Suresh Kumar | TNN | Updated: Jan 3, 2019, 05:26 IST
Representative imageCHENNAI: Paving the way for resumption online medicine sale, Madras high court has stayed a single judge order prohibiting such online sales till central government notifies rules regulating the trade.
“Online sale is going on for quite some time and if all of a sudden it is stopped till the Rules are notified, it would definitely create grave hardship, (pose) inconvenience and health issues to patients/persons who order medicines through online platform,” a division bench of Justice M Sathyanarayanan and Justice P Rajamanickam said.
(The immediate resumption of online sale, however, is unlikely, as Delhi high court’s order restraining online pharmacies is still in operation).
On Wednesday, the division bench further said: “It also appears from the stand of the union government that they are also inclined in favour of online sales and, of course, subject to the approval of the draft amendment permitting the online sales”.
Making it clear that the reasons/observations made herein are only for the purpose of disposal of these miscellaneous petitions and that the high court did not deal with the merits of the main case and that it was open to the respective parties to canvass the same at the time of final disposal of the writ appeals, the bench posted the appeals to January 24 for final hearing.
On December 17, disposing of a plea moved by the Tamil Nadu Chemists & Druggists Association, a single judge of the court directed the Centre to notify the rules governing the trade on or before January 31 and stayed all such trade through online mode till such notification is issued.
Aggrieved, online pharma traders moved an appeal in the high court. They contended that most of them were licence holders under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and others were just aggregators who act as couriers for licensed pharmacies. They further informed the court that the Centre had framed draft rules to govern such online sale and the same would be notified soon.
However, the association contended that online sale of medicines was done through more than 3,500 websites across the country and it was in violation of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, as it was done without valid permission/licence.
Unless the draft rules — the Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Rules, 2018 — is approved and notified, such trade cannot be allowed to take place and since the administration of the drugs also concerns with health and lives of patients, such kind of trade activity can be undertaken only in accordance with law, it added.
“Online sale is going on for quite some time and if all of a sudden it is stopped till the Rules are notified, it would definitely create grave hardship, (pose) inconvenience and health issues to patients/persons who order medicines through online platform,” a division bench of Justice M Sathyanarayanan and Justice P Rajamanickam said.
(The immediate resumption of online sale, however, is unlikely, as Delhi high court’s order restraining online pharmacies is still in operation).
On Wednesday, the division bench further said: “It also appears from the stand of the union government that they are also inclined in favour of online sales and, of course, subject to the approval of the draft amendment permitting the online sales”.
Making it clear that the reasons/observations made herein are only for the purpose of disposal of these miscellaneous petitions and that the high court did not deal with the merits of the main case and that it was open to the respective parties to canvass the same at the time of final disposal of the writ appeals, the bench posted the appeals to January 24 for final hearing.
On December 17, disposing of a plea moved by the Tamil Nadu Chemists & Druggists Association, a single judge of the court directed the Centre to notify the rules governing the trade on or before January 31 and stayed all such trade through online mode till such notification is issued.
Aggrieved, online pharma traders moved an appeal in the high court. They contended that most of them were licence holders under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and others were just aggregators who act as couriers for licensed pharmacies. They further informed the court that the Centre had framed draft rules to govern such online sale and the same would be notified soon.
However, the association contended that online sale of medicines was done through more than 3,500 websites across the country and it was in violation of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, as it was done without valid permission/licence.
Unless the draft rules — the Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Rules, 2018 — is approved and notified, such trade cannot be allowed to take place and since the administration of the drugs also concerns with health and lives of patients, such kind of trade activity can be undertaken only in accordance with law, it added.
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