New Delhi, May 20 (IANS) The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Centre and other regulatory authorities on a public interest litigation (PIL) alleging illegal export of life-saving anti-cancer drugs meant exclusively for domestic use in India.

The plea raises concerns over alleged loopholes in the verification system that enable certain exporters to procure drugs labelled “for sale in India only” from the domestic market and illegally ship them abroad.

After hearing the submissions, a Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia issued notice and sought responses from the Union government, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), and Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI).

According to the petition, the issue pertains to “serious irregularities concerning the unlawful diversion and export of life-saving pharmaceutical drugs meant strictly for domestic use within India”. It contended that certain entities engaged in export activities exploit gaps in the regulatory framework by mixing such domestically restricted drugs with otherwise permissible export consignments, thereby bypassing scrutiny.

The plea stated that high-value drugs, including those imported under strict regulatory conditions and labelled for domestic consumption, are being diverted from the authorised supply chain and routed into export channels.

The PIL contended that the regulatory framework envisages a controlled and traceable supply chain for imported medicines, and that the diversion of such drugs for export violates statutory and regulatory provisions governing the import, labelling, distribution, and export of pharmaceuticals.

Referring to an Office Memorandum dated January 19, 2024, issued by the CDSCO, the petition claimed that the regulatory body had recorded instances of merchant exporters exporting products marked “for sale in India only” and had directed that such practices be stopped.

The petitioners argued that, despite such acknowledgement and detailed representations submitted to the authorities, no effective or comprehensive investigation had been initiated to ascertain the scale and mechanism of the alleged illegal diversion.

The plea added that scrutiny of shipping documents, customs declarations, and export records would reveal the extent of violations and lapses in the regulatory mechanism.

Contending that the issue has serious implications for public health and drug availability, the petitioners have sought directions for a thorough probe and strengthening of regulatory mechanisms to prevent such illegal exports.

The PIL has been filed by Ripan Wadhwa and Ramesh Kumar Sharma through advocate Dhruv Chawla.

–IANS

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