BENGALURU: Quashing the order passed by the state government to stop the delivery of medicines through Janaushadhi Kendras on the premises of government hospitals, the Karnataka High Court on Thursday said there should be public interest in politics and not politics in public interest.
"The sustained success of these Kendras for over 5 to 7 years speaks volumes. Therefore, continuation of these Kendras is in the public interest. The state cannot now throw a spanner in the wheel of smooth functioning of the Kendras by the impugned action, which, on the face of it, is antithetical to public interest," the court observed.
Justice M Nagaprasanna made these scathing remarks while taking serious exception to the stand of the state government, which passed the orders dated May 14, 2025 and August 2, 2025, withdrawing the permission granted earlier to the Janaushadhi Kendras and asking them to vacate the premises of government hospitals in the state.
The court further said that in the cross-fire between institutional egos, it is the citizen who stands to suffer. "The constitutional courts exist precisely to prevent such collateral damage. Therefore, the impugned orders born out of confusion, rather than clarity, and executed in haste, rather than fairness, cannot be sustained. Public interest must be the soul of governance, not a slogan to justify abrupt policy reversals. The state has not shown that continuation of the Janaushadhi Kendras is illegal or harmful. Therefore, it cannot renege on its prior commitments," the court observed.
"The doctrine of legitimate expectation, now firmly embedded in the constitutional principles, demands that the state’s action must be fair, predictable and non-arbitrary. The apex court has repeatedly reminded that the state government, by rule of law, must honour its promises, unless overriding public interest established by material and reasons necessitates the departure," the court noted.
Quashing both the orders in question while allowing a batch of petitions, the court held that the Kendras are established by the government of India, with the avowed objective of providing generic medicine, both cost-effective and quality-effective, which is now being stonewalled by the state by passing an order of closure.
"The petitioners have, pursuant to the agreement with the state, been running the Kendras uninterruptedly for seven years. They do have a legitimate expectation to continue the Kendras. It is not the case of the state that there is a single complaint against any of the Kendras, with regard to the supply of medicine, its quality or otherwise. Therefore, this strengthens the legitimate expectation of all these petitioners who are running the Kendras," the court added.