The Government's drug price control policy came under criticism yet again in the Supreme Court on Thursday as the Court gave Centre six weeks' time to verify whether consumers are getting the benefits under the present regime of capping prices of essential drugs.
The Bench examined the issue in the light of a PIl filed by All India Drug Action Network that challenged the Drug Price Control Order (DPCO) 2013 as irrational and unreasonable. The NGO suggested that the drug price control regime should be based on cost of production of the drug by which an average ceiling can be placed on the price of the drug. Instead, it pointed that what is followed is a policy based on market-based price. Under this regime, drug manufacturers earned profit of upto 3000 per cent.
The bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud told the Government to have a relook on its policy and suggest whether the model proposed by the petitioner was workable. The bench said, "In price control decisions, this Court generally does not interfere. But when we find such a control order is not acceptable as it affects large number of consumers, we will step in."
Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves appearing for the NGO submitted that the DPCO 2013 was such that bigger states could receive a drug for as low as Re one, while in other states it would be as huge as Rs 40. This makes the policy unreasonable as the benefit is not passed to consumers across the country.
The bench told Centre, "Your basic formula is wrong. You must pass on the benefit to consumers by verifying whether cost-based approach or market-based approach is most beneficial to consumers. "This is not the first time the Court has been insisting for a relook on the DPCO. Assurances from Centre have come in the past but in the absence of any concrete proposals, the issue has been hanging fire in the Court for years together.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) too came in support of the petitioner NGO and informed the Court that it was in the process of preparing a report in this regard.