Last year a case of supplying spurious drugs the Government and private hospitals was unearthed. Inquiries into that case revealed that there were a number of drugs that were spurious. With this the police and concerned authorities came into action. It was found that some of the spurious drugs supplied either to the hospitals or to retail pharmacies was an illegal Act in which many concerned people were involved. Some manufacturing companies were identified for producing and supplying adulterated drugs. There was much public outcry for this crime and people demanded strict action on part of the Government.
While this was happening, a PIL was filed with the State High Court demanding action against those who were involved in manufacturing, transporting, supplying and distributing fake drugs. In a recent hearing the court was presented a status report filed by Central Drug Control Organization (CDCO). The Divisional Bench of the State High Court reacted critically to the report observing that the CDCO seemed to be satisfied with the action taken by the State Government. The action taken by the Government is that the license of one druggist has been cancelled and other punitive measures are under consideration. The stand taken by the Divisional Bench is that the punishment of cancelling the license for selling spurious drugs is not sufficient to deter others from indulging in this kind of crime against patients and persons in need of medical support.
In a couple of editorials appearing in these columns last year when the drug scandal was unearthed, we had suggested strong action against the manufacturers, distributors and suppliers of spurious drugs. Incidentally, the Divisional Bench, too, is of the same thinking. Cancellation of license is not sufficient punishment. The point is that the spirit of Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 has to be the guiding principle of dealing with adulterated drugs. According to the Act, anybody against whom the case of adulteration of drugs and its marketing is proved can be sent to the prison for a period of ten years and at the same time the Act provides that he can also be given life term in case the crime is of large magnitude. The question is that it is the human lives that are endangered by the crime of adulterating drugs. The question is not that out of a couple of thousands of random samples picked up from here or there only a few dozens are four spurious after laboratory test. Even having one spurious drug is enough for the law enforcing machinery to come into action. It is also to be noted that the State does not have a well equipped modern type of drug testing laboratory and we need to send the samples either to Chandigarh or to Kolkata to obtain professional opinion on the status of the drugs. Therefore it become important that we have a very sophisticated and ultra modern drug testing laboratory which would be effective in controlling drug adulteration.
It is all right that the status report filed by the attorney gives information about some of the measures taken by the Government to effectively control drug adulteration. Steps like recruiting more drug inspectors and accelerating the random picking up of samples for examination or even cancelling the license of indicted druggists are all reasonable measures and should not be underestimated. But then we are again face to face with the question of lack of accountability as the main reason for running administration haywire. For example, two or three drug manufacturing companies in Himachal Pradesh from whom our State has been purchasing drugs have been indicted for manufacturing adulterated drugs. Our State should have the right to seek compensation for the patients to whom these drugs were prescribed and did them no good. This is tantamount to the breach of trust. The defaulters should not go unpunished because they have been indulging in a crime wilfully and over a long period of time. The Government shall have to ensure that there is not a nexus between various actors on the scene who have been conducting this callous activity. We do not know why the Government has been soft paddling on the issue? May be those coming under scanner have strong political and other links with the powers that be and are thus misusing their influence. This should not happen and the Government will have to demonstrate transparency in letting the public know what action it takes in this case.
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