HC ‘trashes’ report in essential medicines hoarding case involving BJP MP Gautam Gambhir

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Monday slammed the drug controller’s status report on BJP MP Gautam Gambhir into the allegation that he and others hoarded essential medicines, including Fabiflu, to treat patients of the Covid-19.

Dismissing the report as “trash,” the court said there was no legal basis for it.

“You can’t take us for a ride. If you think we are so gullible, so naive, we are not,” the court told the drug controller and said people’s tendency to appear as saviours have to be denounced. 

“There is a fundamental error of approach. The manner in which you have conducted the investigation is questionable,” it said.

The high court took strong exception to the report, which concluded that the dealers had ample stock to supply to others, and said everyone knows that the medicine was in short supply and while Gambhir bought thousands of strips of the medicine, other people who needed it could not get it on that day.

“Please don’t tell us there is no shortage. We know there was a shortage. You don’t have to swallow the report. You have to question your officers. You (drug controller) are wrong to say it was not in short supply. You want us to shut our eyes. You think you would get away with this. You better do your job. If you can’t do your job, tell us, we will have you suspended and let someone else do your job,” a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh said.    

The bench also pulled up Gambhir for again making a statement that he will continue to do such work.

“We have already said it is a malpractice. This tendency of people trying to take advantage and in trying to appear as a saviour when they themselves created the problem, has to be denounced. And then the person to state he would do it again. If it continues, we know how to deal with it,” the bench said.

The court was hearing a PIL seeking lodging of an FIR on the allegations that politicians are able to procure in huge quantities and distribute Covid medicines even as patients were running from pillar to post to get them.    

(With agency inputs)