NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday set aside its verdict on Centre's decision to ban 344 fixed dose combination (FDC) medicines. The court was responding to 454 petitions filed by drug and healthcare majors challenging the Centre's decision.
The high court said that the Centre went about in a haphazard manner while banning the 344 FDC. The court also said that the Centre took the decision without following procedure prescribed under the statute.
Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw on June 2 had reserved the order after hearing regular arguments of companies and some NGOs.
The court had on March 14 stayed the Centre's March 10 ban on 344 FDC drugs and this interim order was passed in each and every case filed before it thereafter.
During arguments, the drug companies had argued that the ban order was passed without considering clinical data and had termed as "absurd" the government's claim that it took the decision to ban FDCs on the ground that safer alternatives were available.
The government had banned over 300 FDC drugs on the ground that they involve "risk" to humans and safer alternatives were available. The drugs include brands like Corex cough syrup, Vicks Action 500 extra and D'Cold.