The Centre has informed the Delhi High Court that a website, promoting sale of medicines through e-pharmacies, which was linked to Aarogya Setu mobile app has been suspended.
Additional Solicitor General Maninder Acharya, appearing for the Centre, said that the operation of the website http://www.aarogya setumitr.in has been suspended. vFollowing the ASG’s statement, Justice Navin Chawla disposed of the petition seeking to delink the website from Aarogya Setu mobile app.
Issues raised
The ASG also submitted that if at all the website is to be relaunched, the Centre shall keep in mind the issues raised by the petitioners — South Chemists and Distributors Association — in the present petition.
The association, in its plea, had said the website is linked to the official mobile app Aarogya Setu in a highly illegal, arbitrary and discriminatory manner as the website promotes and acts as a marketing tool for e-pharmacies only.
There is no mention that medicines can also be procured by the local pharmacy stores which operate offline, the plea said. It said there is absolutely no basis for a government-owned platform be used to promote private commercial ventures.
The plea said the criteria for getting listed as a vendor on the website is that the entity should be an e-pharmacy, which is arbitrary, without any intelligible differentia, wholly illegal and discriminatory .
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