The Delhi High Court has sought the Centre’s stand on a plea alleging that it and the AAP Government were not following through on their assurance to the court to ensure there would be no shortage of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, used to treat HIV. Justice Sunil Gaur has asked the Ministry of Health to file a status report in response to the petition seeking contempt proceedings against the Centre, Delhi Government and the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) for “willful disobedience” of the assurance given to the court last year.
The plea, listed for hearing on March 12 next year, has contended that the two governments and NACO had assured the high court that there would be no shortage of ARV drugs in future. The contempt petition was moved by Delhi resident Rekha Devi, who said the assurance was given in May last year after she had moved a plea claiming shortage of ARV drugs at all Government-run hospitals and antiretroviral therapy (ART) centres in Delhi.