The Delhi High Court on Monday sought response of the Centre on Johnson and Johnson’s plea challenging the orders by which it was directed to compensate patients who received faulty hip implants made by the company.
Justice Vibhu Bakhru asked the Centre’s counsel to take instruction on Johnson and Johnson’s submission that it was willing to pay ₹25 lakh as compensation to the patients who were affected by its hip implants.
The High Court also asked authorities not to take any steps against the company till the next date of hearing.
In its plea, the company contended that the Centre has no jurisdiction under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act to fix and enforce the compensation.
Johnson and Johnson has challenged the Centre’s March 8 and March 28 orders by which it has arrived at a compensation formula and asked the firm to abide by it.
Its petition said, “Many patients have exercised their remedies before the consumer courts. The actions of the respondents in unilaterally arriving at a compensation formula and further directing the petitioner to abide by the same in the absence of any legal basis thereto is arbitrary and devoid of any statutory power”.
The company said the Centre’s order fixing the compensation was based on formula and set of expert committees’ recommendations, which have already been challenged by it and are pending in the High Court.
Replacement implants
It challenged the compensation formula worked out by expert committee headed by R.K. Arya, Director, Sports Injury Centre. It has also sought quashing of the report of another committee headed by Arun Agarwal, Professor of ENT, Maulana Azad Medical College, which was appointed by the Health Ministry for looking into the allegations of faulty hip replacement implants.
According to the Arya committee report, compensation payable to patients would be determined in terms of the disability by the faulty hip implants in relation to their age.
A public interest litigation (PIL), which was earlier before the Supreme Court, has alleged that faulty hip implants have been fitted into the bodies of 4,525 Indian patients.