Delhi HC Grants Centre 6 More Weeks To Finalise Stance On Draft Epharmacy Rules

The Delhi High Court has granted the Centre an extension of another six weeks to finalise and inform the court about its stance on draft epharmacy regulations.

The bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula, while hearing petitions seeking ban on sale of online drugs and against the 2018 draft rules released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), said that the pending cases should not come in the way of the Centre taking steps against those violating the HC’s December 2018 order, news agency PTI reported.

The HC had in 2018 ordered a stay on online pharmacies selling drugs without valid licences.

Appearing for the government, Advocate Kirtiman Singh informed the court that deliberations on the draft regulations are still ongoing. 

Consequently, the court gave the Centre an additional time of another six weeks to inform it about the outcome of the consultations and deliberations and the final stand of the government.

The MoHFW in 2018 issued draft amendments to the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 to regulate online sales of drugs. The ministry sought comments and suggestions on the rules, but the regulations have not been finalised yet. 

At the heart of the matter are two petitions. While the South Chemists and Distributors Association’s plea has challenged the ministry’s draft notification, another petition by pharmacist Zaheer Ahmed has sought contempt action against pharmacies for selling drugs online in violation of the court’s order.

Ahmed’s petition also seeks contempt action against the government for failing to ban unregulated online epharmacies. 

It must be noted that the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) recently conducted fresh consultations on draft regulations for epharmacies with industry stakeholders. The meeting was attended by the All India Organization of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD), representatives from the Pharmacy Council of India, and online pharmacy platforms, including Tata 1mg, PharmEasy, Netmed, and Practo. 

The development came after the Delhi HC asked the government to take necessary actions against epharmacies. 

Earlier in February, the DCGI sent show cause notices to 20 epharmacies, including Tata 1mg, Amazon, and Flipkart, for selling and distributing drugs in contravention of provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. 

However, defending themselves, officials of the epharmacies reportedly approached the DCGI seeking an audience with the health ministry to clarify their position. 

Last year, the Centre also came out with the draft New Drugs, Medical Devices and Cosmetics Bill, 2022, which sought to bring epharmacies under its ambit. However, the health ministry is now working on a revised draft of the bill and has also sought inputs from other departments.