Allegations 'serious' & 'grave', says special court in Biocon Biologics case

A special court dealing in a bribery case allegedly involving Biocon Biologics, a top official of the central drug regulator and a director of a Delhi-based company has said the allegations were "not only serious ... but of grave nature".

The special CBI court, in an 80-page order rejecting the bail pleas of all five accused in the case earlier this week, said: "The questions involved are with larger ramifications to the welfare of the common public and the credit/reputation of the institution of which the applicant/public servants involved are associated."

It is alleged that the director of a Delhi-based company hired by Biocon's subsidiary Biologics for securing regulatory approvals bribed government officials to facilitate product approvals for Biocon Biologics, an allegation the drug maker denied.

The CBI last month arrested S Eswara Reddy, joint drug controller at the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO); L Praveen Kumar, Biocon Biologics head of national regulatory affairs; Animesh Kumar, an assistant drug inspector of the CDSCO and two others including a person who allegedly acted as a conduit. The CBI has alleged that the conduit, the director of a Delhi-based firm, acted as a middleman for several pharma companies.

According to the order, seen by ET, it cannot be ruled out that releasing them on bail could lead to them influencing yet-unexamined witnesses and others who the prosecution might be intending to enquire from.

Refusing to concur with the accuded's contentions, the court said: "Merely, because accused are having permanent residences and hold suited credentials in society and are equipped with higher education and may be willing to tender undertakings and are stating themselves to be a non-flight risk ... at this stage, the benefit (of bail) cannot be extended."

Biocon Biologics has denied any wrongdoing. A company spokesperson on Tuesday, said: "Whilst we are disappointed that bail was not granted to our employee, L Praveen Kumar, we have complete faith in the Indian judicial system. We will continue to extend our full cooperation to the investigative agencies and take appropriate steps as per law."

In a related development, the court allowed the CBI's plea to record voice samples of the accused and noted that the accused were willing to provide voice samples. It has directed the director of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, New Delhi, to submit a transcript of the recorded conversation in a sealed envelope.

The court has taken stock of recorded phone conversations purportedly between two co-accused. It reproduced an excerpt of the alleged conversation between the assistant drug inspector and an alleged conduit, Guljit Sethi, which says: "Apki file pe progress ho gaya (there has been progress in your file)".

The official tried to justify the call, stating that it was a "normal practice" to receive calls from those whose files were pending. He claimed he was not paid anything and that he was merely informing Sethi about the status of her file. He claimed he had raised 13 objections on a file pertaining to Biocon Biologics. The court termed the need for the official to share personal contact details as "unexplained".