Premium'We are not doubting his (Gautam Gambhir) intentions but the way he has gone about it, he has actually done a disservice, unintentionally may be,' the Delhi HC said
The Delhi High court Monday directed the drug controller to investigate how Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Gautam Gambhir was able to procure over 2,000 strips of Fabiflu medicine, used for treating Covid-19 patients. The court asked if there was already a shortage of the drug then how the chemist was able to entertain such a prescription.
A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh said ,"Gautam Gambhir must have done it with best of intentions. We are not doubting his intentions. He has been a national player of our country. Our question is whether it is a responsible behaviour when you the medicine is in short supply".
“We are not doubting his intentions but the way he has gone about it, he has actually done a disservice, unintentionally may be. This was not the way that you buy from the market so many strips, certainly not," the bench added.
The high court also directed the Drug Controller of Delhi government to conduct a similar inquiry into the allegations of procuring and hoarding medical oxygen made against AAP MLAs Priti Tomar and Praveen Kumar.
The bench perused the status report of Delhi Police which stated that Gambhir had purchased 2,628 strips of Fabiflu on the prescription of Dr Manish of Sanjay Garg Hospital. While 2,343 strips were distributed to patients, remaining 285 strips were deposited with Delhi government’s Director General of Health Services for distribution.
The HC bench said , “The aspect which needs to be examined is how such a large quantity of Fabiflu was authorized to be purchased in retail as the medicine was in grave short supply at the relevant time. We can take judicial notice of this fact as we have been hearing this matter for a considerable time now. It also needs examination as to how these medicines were distributed to several patients or attendants by Dr Manish of Sanjay Garg hospital," the bench said.
“We would like you (Drug Controller) to tell us what enquiry you have done. Here there is a very clear case made out. Tell us under what provisions action is required to be taken and against whom. All this has to be done by the Drug Controller and not by the Delhi Police, as per the Supreme Court’s order," the bench said.
It added once the allegations have come to the knowledge of the Drug Controller, it cannot shut its eyes and asked it to look into Gambhir’s incident.
The court said since the violation falls in the realm of drug controller, let the material collected be placed before the Drug Controller of Delhi which shall undertake the necessary enquiry and file a status report.
The court had earlier said political leaders have no business to hoard stocks of Covid19 medicines that are already in shortage and they are expected to surrender these drugs.
Petitioner Deepak Singh, the chairperson of Hruduya Foundation and a national level shooter, has questioned how politicians are able to procure large stocks of the medicine without having the requisite permission under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, when the normal public was not getting it.
Advocate Virag Gupta, representing Singh, said strict action be taken against the politicians, who were allegedly indulging in black marketing of the Covid medicines.
He claimed that photographs clearly show Gambhir was himself distributing medicines to people outside his office and not the doctor. Gambhir was neither a doctor nor a chemist or an authorised person to distribute medicines to patients, Gupta said.
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