SC dismisses plea against Ranbaxy

In relief to pharmaceutical major Ranbaxy Laboratories, the Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a probe against it for allegedly manufacturing and selling substandard medicines due to lack of evidence against the company.

A bench of justices A K Patnaik and Ranjan Gogoi, however, allowed the petitioner advocate M L Sharma to file a fresh petition if he finds some evidence against Ranbaxy in support of his allegation that the company is engaged in manufacturing and selling substandard drugs.

“Your entire argument is based on proceedings in the US. We have no jurisdiction over it. Show us material that things are happening in India and it adversely affects right to life of people here,” the bench observed adding, “Where is the material against Ranbaxy”.

The PIL  had alleged that Ranbaxy was fined $500 million by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for making and selling adulterated drugs. It also sought sealing of all its manufacturing units in India, including those in Paonta Sahib in Himachal Pradesh and Dewas in Madhya Pradesh.