Control black marketing, ensure availability of COVID-19 medicines in time-bound manner: Plea filed before Delhi High Court

A plea has been filed before the Delhi High Court for directions to control black marketing of COVID-19 medicines and to ensure their availability and procurements in a time-bound and transparent manner..The plea, which is preferred by Advocate Kritika Gupta, is in the form of an intervention application in the pending writ petition concerning the COVID-19 situation in the national capital. .Intervention in supply of oxygen would tantamount to endangering hundreds of human lives: Delhi High Court.The application highlights the acute shortage of medicines used for treating COVID-19 patients, such as Remdesivir, Favipiravir, Fabiflu, Tocilizumab etc. in Delhi and the absence of any transparent and time-bound mechanism to procure the same. .The applicant states that it was due to the non-availability of the prescribed medicines with the hospital, chemists, distributor or even the Office of Drug Controller that her father succumbed to COVID 19..The applicant has thus submitted that the availability of these essential drugs was the need of the hour and therefore, it was essential that the authorities took initiatives to make available the same in order to save countless lives.."The plight of the public at large is evident from the various articles in the newspaper and the various COVID- 19 help groups, wherein, the public at large can be seen enquiring about the availability of the drugs in Delhi NCR..The Respondents are bound to ensure that necessary drugs are made available to all the COVID-19 Hospitals (including the Private Hospital)/Centres and the chemists’ shops in Delhi at a reasonable price.", the application reads. .It is also asserted that the State authorities have failed to regulate black marketing of the COVID-19 drugs which are being sold by the hoarders in the black market at 5-10 times the prices of the MRP due to their acute shortage..In her application, the applicant has also made certain suggestions which inter alia include deployment of Nodal Officers, keeping a tab on requisition and procurement of such drugs, rolling out a helpline number etc. ."The administration and the Hospital Management must ensure that the family members of the COVID patients are not made to run from one pharmacy to the other pharmacy to locate the availability of the medicines.", it is urged. .The application also highlights the various High Courts i.e. Jharkhand High Court, Bombay High Court (Nagpur Bench), Madhya Pradesh High Court, Gujarat High Court have also taken cognizance of the shortage of these COVID-19 medicines..The issue would be taken up by the High Court tomorrow.