[BREAKING] Plea in Bombay High Court to make COVID-19 vaccine available throughout country at Rs. 150, stop "organised loot" by manufacturers

A plea has been moved before the Bombay seeking directions to be issued to the Central and State governments to ensure that vaccine for COVID-19 is supplied at the uniform rate of Rs. 150 per dose for citizens across the country. .The plea filed by a Mumbai based lawyer Fayzan Khan and his three interns, who are law students, alleged that the pharmaceutical companies are engaged in organised loot and Court's intervention is required to protect the national public health and to ensure the fundamental right to equality and life are 'not left to the mercy of the respondent pharmaceutical companies. ."Central Government, State Government should take all the steps ensuring the availability of the “COVID-19 vaccine” at uniform rate of Rs. 150/- per dose for the citizen by exercising powers under National Disaster Management Act, 2005, Essential Commodities Act and sovereign powers to achieve the goal of complete vaccination and to protect the national public health," the plea said. .Apart from the State and the Central governments, the two vaccine manufacturing companies, Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech have also been arraigned as parties to the case. .The plea filed through V Shukla and Associates set out the varying charges (per dose) quoted by SII for their vaccine 'Covishield', which are as follows.Rs. 150/- (+GST) for the Central governmentRs. 400/- for state governmentRs. 600/- for private hospitals.Likewise, the charges (per dose) quoted by Bharat Biotech for their vaccine are:Rs. 600/- for State governmentRs. 1200/- for private hospitals$15-$20/- for exports."The above declaration show that the Central Government has given relaxation and permitted the Covid-19 vaccine manufacturer for its commercial exploitation. This is unreasonable, illogical, amounts to blackmailing the citizens who badly need this vaccine, as such, present PIL challenges the permission granted by the Central Government to keep huge difference in the price of this vaccine in the rate viz. at which, it is being supplied to the Central Government (INR 150 + GST) and the rate of Rs.400/- for the State Government and Rs.600/- for Private Hospitals declared by SII", the plea said. .The petitioners' primary contention was that since the powers under the National Disaster Management Act are invoked by the Central government, it also has the responsibility to take the decision on fixing the costs of vaccine rather than leaving it upon a private entity. .The plea further stated that the discrimination in cost would mean that "BJP led State governments will be supplied by the Central government" while "non-BJP ruling states will be forced to purchase vaccines at higher rate"..The plea also questioned the propriety of asking the State government to compete in open market for vaccine procurement with Central government and private hospitals. This, the plea stated, will lead to an inter-state competition which would be disastrous. It is arbitrary, discriminatory and does not fall within a state's welfare policy where the "Central government is keeping an assured quota for itself", it was submitted. .Further, it was also contended that fixing a price for private hospitals might definitely trigger black-marketing and create artificial shortage in supply, weaponing the influential lobby of private stock holders."Storage of this life saving vaccine by the private entities and also costing State Government at high cost in this pandemic situation cannot be controlled," the petition said. .The plea also suggested that since vaccine is an essential commodity, and the production should not be left with a private company, the governments "possess all powers to acquire the entire establishment with the employees" for production, distribution of vaccine at reasonable costs in the event the companies refuse to act fairly..It was the petitioner's contention that a drug manufacturing company could not have policy of supplying one drug with three different prices. .The petitioners also claimed that vaccine costs are cheaper outside than in India, highlighting the difference in vaccine prices in India and other countries, to their buttress case. .It is a tactic by pharmaceutical companies to "milk the fear psychosis" of increased death rates due to COVID-19 pandemic, the plea stated. .In this regard, the plea also highlighted a news article published by Business Standard which gave details of the hefty monthly rent being paid by CEO of Serum Institute of India, Adar Poonawalla for his bungalow. "This (sic) lavish expenses are planned by irrationally increasing the cost of life saving vaccine. These increased rates are not the realistic and arise out of exigency but are intended to an “organized loot” taking advantages of Corona Virus threat to Indians," it was alleged. ."The 100% vaccination of the citizen is the only hope of ray to combat the present pandemic, it cannot be left or relaxed in the hands of greedy management of SII and black-marketers," the petitioners prayed..The plea prayed for quashing the differential costs for COVID vaccines declared by SII and Bharat Biotech "with further direction to the Central government, State government to take all the steps ensuring the availability of the “COVID-19 vaccine” at uniform rate of Rs. 150/- per dose for the citizen by exercising powers under National Disaster Management Act, 2005, Essential Commodities Act and sovereign powers to achieve the goal of complete vaccination.".The petition is likely to be mentioned for urgent relief this week. The petitioners will be pressing for the interim order of injunction restraining the manufacturing companies from selling the COVID vaccines at a rate more than Rs. 150/- (+GST) or obstructing its supply to the centre, or state or needy citizens.