Delhi & Madras High Courts direct Central Government to restrict sale of medicines by E-Pharmacies
Delhi High Court, on December 12, 2018, directed the Central Government and the Delhi Government to restrain E-Pharmacies from selling medicines online. The High Court issued the direction in the petition filed by Delhi based dermatologist Dr. Zaheer Ahmed.
The petition filed by Dr. Ahmed highlighted the severe risks attached to the online sale of medicines, which is more often than not, done without any verification of the prescriptions. This leads to high chances of drug abuse and mis-utilisation of addictive drugs. The petition alleged that unregulated and unlicensed sale from E-Pharmacies increase the risk of sale of misbranded and substandard drugs.
On December 17, 2018, just days after the Delhi High Court decision, Madras High Court (“Madras HC”) in The Tamil Nadu Chemists and Druggists Association v. Union of India and another decided that online sale of medicines will be banned until the Central Government notifies the Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Rules, 2018 (“draft E-Pharma Regulations”).
The Madras HC directed the Central Government to notify the draft E-Pharma Regulations by January 31, 2019. After the E-Pharma Regulations are notified, E-Pharmacies and other online medical stores shall be required to obtain the licenses within 2 months from such notification date.
Quick Views:
- We believe that the judgment passed by both the High Courts will put additional pressure on the Central Government to adopt the draft E-Pharma regulations at the earliest instance. The Madras High Court, by providing a timeline in the judgment, has ensured that the Central Government takes urgent action in notifying the regulations.
- Regulations that enable a smooth operation of e-pharmacies is in the larger interests of all concerned i.e. the Government- which ought to have the larger public interest in mind, e-pharmacies- for whom a clear regulatory environment is essential to assure consumers of the credibility of transacting for medicines online, and consumers- for whom the convenience of transacting online will make purchase of drugs a hassle-free experience.
Winding Up cases pending in HCs, under SICA, to be transferred to NCLT, rules SC
Supreme Court of India in Jaipur Metals & Electricals Employees Organization v. Jaipur Metals & Electricals Ltd. decided that winding up cases initiated under the provisions of erstwhile Sick Industrial Companies Act (“SICA”) must be transferred to the National Company Law Tribunal (“NCLT”) when a party files an application in accordance with Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (“IBC”).
The Supreme Court was hearing an appeal against the Rajasthan High Court (“High Court”) judgment, in which it refused to transfer the pending winding up proceedings to the NCLT. Additionally, The High Court set aside the order of the NCLT in which they had accepted the financial creditor’s petition under Section 7 of IBC.
The Supreme Court set aside the High Court judgment and held that the winding up proceeding will continue in the NCLT.
Quick Views:
- We believe that this judgment clarifies the law on transfer of winding up cases from High Court to the NCLT where the latter has necessary jurisdiction.
- This judgment provides good news to those financial creditors who have been caught in winding up litigation under the SICA. Once they file the application under Section 7 of IBC, there is a high chance of quick resolution of the debts.
MCA extends last date for form filing, notifying particulars of auditors (Form NFRA-1)
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (“MCA”) issued a circular on December 13, 2018 extending the deadline for filing Form NFRA-1. Form NFRA-1 is required to be filled by every body corporate regulated under the National Financial Reporting Authority (“NFRA”) Rules, within 30 days of the commencement of these rules i.e., within 30 days from November 13, 2018. Under Form NFRA-1, the body corporate is required to provide the particulars of the auditor appointed by it.
Quick Views:
- We believe this is a welcome step taken by the MCA as they have taken into account the time gap between the date on which the NFRA Rules were notified and the date on which Form NFRA-1 was actually uploaded on the website.
Disclaimer: This post has been prepared for informational purposes only. The information/or observations contained in this post does not constitute legal advice and should not be acted upon in any specific situation without seeking proper legal advice from a practicing attorney.