‘Stay on FDC ban to continue,’ says Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court held that the stay imposed on the ban of the manufacture, distribution and sale of Fixed Dose Combination (FDC) drugs shall continue to be in place till March 28..The Bench has fixed March 28 as the next day of hearing..Earlier in the day, when the batch of cases challenging the Govt’s notification came up for hearing before Court No. 12, Justice RS Endlaw posted all the cases, fresh petitions along with petitions filed last week, to be heard at 2.45 pm..However, the small courtroom began to see a sizable crowd pouring in by 1.45 pm and by 2.15, it became virtually impossible for anyone to enter the court. Spectators in the corridor included legal teams of pharma companies, most of whom were unsuccessful in entering the courtroom..It is then that Justice Endlaw left the Court and directed the counsel for the petitioners along with the government’s lawyers to come to his chambers so that the hearing could continue there. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for Pfizer Ltd (being advised by Veritas Legal), which was also the first company to be granted relief by the Court and ASG Sanjay Jain for the Union were among the lawyers who were present during the chamber hearing..After a brief hearing, news eventually trickled out that the Bench would hear the cases on March 28, and that the interim stay granted had been extended. Justice Endlaw also directed the government to supply all parties with a copy of the findings of the Expert Committee headed by Chandrakant Kokate..It was the Kokate Committee report was the basis behind a gazette notification issued on March 10 by the Union & Health Ministry, whereby the government had banned 344 FDCs. The government said the panel of experts had reviewed 6,700 drug combinations and found “no therapeutic justification” for any of the drugs that it was banning..Pursuant to the notification, a slew of companies had moved the High Court in the past week challenging the ban. With some more pharmaceuticals expected to reach the Court in the next few days, it is also learnt that Justice Endlaw proposes to pass a set of administrative directions..These directions may pertain to containing the number of people (including lawyers and media persons) be present inside Court, when the hearing commences on Monday afternoon at 2.15 pm.