Sample Lost, Questions Remain

The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court's decision to quash proceedings against a pharmaceutical company because a drug sample disappeared from the statutory testing process is a damning indictment of the manner in which an investigation was handled. What began with the seizure of a suspected sub-standard medicine in 2011 ended, fifteen years later, without the most fundamental question being conclusively answered: was the medicine actually sub-standard or not? This is not a mere procedural lapse. It reflects a thoroughly unprofessional approach by the investigating agency and the department responsible for enforcing drug quality standards. Astonishingly, it took more than four years for the Trial Court to learn from the laboratory that no sample had been received. By then, the medicine had long expired, making a meaningful second test impossible.

The consequences were inevitable. The prosecution collapsed because the accused company's statutory right to re-analysis had been irretrievably defeated. The High Court was therefore justified in quashing the proceedings. But the larger failure cannot be overlooked. Why did nobody in the department track the sample? Why was its non-receipt not discovered immediately? Why were proceedings allowed to drag on for years after the sample had expired? And, most importantly, was this simply an extraordinary oversight or a deliberate attempt to ensure that the firm ultimately escaped prosecution?

These questions require clear and credible answers. If it was negligence, who has been held responsible? If no one was accountable, the administrative failure becomes even more disturbing. Drug inspections, raids and random sampling cannot be reduced to meaningless paperwork. Samples are collected at public expense, and prosecutions are initiated through an elaborate legal process. A clueless investigation that cannot even ensure delivery of crucial evidence is a sheer waste of time and resources. The stakes are far higher in cases involving medicines. J&K has witnessed repeated concerns over substandard and spurious drugs, with several cases surfacing over the years, including instances where patients allegedly lost their lives. Human lives are at stake. Fifteen years on, neither the public nor the accused has a definitive answer about the quality of the medicine in question.

The HC has rightly ordered a thorough inquiry and directed that the relevant Trial Court record be placed before the Chief Justice for appropriate administrative action. That inquiry must not become another file-bound exercise. Accountability has to be fixed, responsibility clearly assigned and systemic safeguards introduced.