NEW DELHI: Remarking that running fake hospitals, dispensaries and medical stores can ultimately affect the health of citizens, the Supreme Court has observed that it is the duty of the Pharmacy Council and state governments to see that hospitals/medical stores are handled by the registered pharmacist only.
"Running the hospitals/dispensaries in absence of any registered pharmacist and/or running such hospitals by fake pharmacists and even running the medical stores by fake pharmacists and without even any pharmacist will ultimately affect the health of the citizen. The State Government and the Bihar State Pharmacy Council cannot be permitted to play with the health and life of the citizen," a bench of Justices MR Shah and MM Sundresh remarked.
The court’s order came in a plea against Patna HC’s order of dismissing the PIL which had sought to only allow registered Pharmacists to compound, prepare, mix or dispense any medicine on the prescription of any medical practitioner.
The plea before the HC had stated that hospitals and persons who are not registered pharmacists such as clerks, ANMs, and staff nurses were also discharging functions of a pharmacist. Against this backdrop, the plea had also sought for issuance of necessary directions for the implementation of Pharmacy Practice Regulation, 2015 framed by the Pharmacy Council of India.
The petition also sought for directing the Bihar Government to create posts other than a Pharmacist and also appoint eligible persons to achieve the objective of Pharmacy Practice Regulation, 2015.
Disapproving the manner in which the HC rejected the PIL, the bench said High Court failed to exercise the powers vested in it under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
“Serious allegations were made against the Bihar State Pharmacy Council and the State of Bihar for not taking any action with respect to fake pharmacists and/or running the Government’s hospitals and/or other hospitals without registered pharmacist and the in-action on the part of the Bihar State Pharmacy Council/State Government has resulted into the affected health of the citizen, the High Court ought to have called upon the Bihar State Pharmacy Council to file the status report on the allegations of fake pharmacist and/or on how many Governments’ hospitals/hospitals in the State are running without registered pharmacist,” the bench said.
The top court also asked the HC to consider the reliefs that were sought in the PIL afresh. The court also asked HC to call for a detailed counter from the State government and Bihar State Pharmacy Council on the number of government, medical and private hospitals that are being run by fake or unregistered pharmacists. The state government was also asked to report on the status with regards to whether it was following Pharmacy Practice Regulations, 2015 or not.