The Supreme Court on Friday took suo motu cognisance of the issue of access to life-saving medicines after noting the prolonged pendency of a petition before the Kerala High Court concerning the affordability of patented cancer drugs, Live Law reported.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana considered the suo motu case which was registered on July 16, the report said.
While issuing notice to the Union on the suo motu case, the bench also requested the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court to ensure the expeditious disposal of the writ petition (WP(c) 18999/2022), which has remained pending for over four years.
At the outset, the Chief Justice said that the bench will request the High Court to decide the matter. "Several times it(Kerala HC matter) has been adjourned," the Live Law report said.
The matter relates to a woman in Kerala, who was suffering from breast cancer and had moved the state high court challenging the exorbitant prices of medicine for treatment.
She died during the pendency of the plea in the high court, PTI reported.
During the hearing, the apex court was informed that the petitioner, who had filed plea before the high court, has passed away.
The petition before the high court was originally filed in 2022 by the patient from Ernakulam.
Following her death, the high court decided to continue the proceedings suo motu, recognising the larger public interest involved, and retitled the case as 'In Re Exorbitant Pricing of Life Saving Patented Medicines'.