KOCHI: In a display of judicial compassion and intervention, the Kerala High Court has stepped in to address the plight of a mother grappling with the dire medical needs of her three-year-old child affected by the life-threatening rare disease Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).
The court recently issued an order permitting her to purchase the drug Risdiplam, sold under the brand name Evrysdi, from the dealer without paying IGST.
The court issued the order on the petition filed by the mother seeking a directive to the Union government not to collect IGST from the distributor for the purchase of the drug which is imported from F-Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Switzerland. The petitioner is sourcing the medicine from a distributor in Ernakulam.
She submitted that a circular issued by the Centre said that the import of medicines for treating individuals suffering from life-threatening diseases can be considered for exemption on a case-to-case basis. The present price of Risdiplam is Rs 6.07 lakh per bottle, including 12% GST.
The court pointed out that it was clear from the terms of the circular, minutes of the GST council, and the provisions of Article 279A(4) of the Constitution that the Union finance minister is competent to consider the grant of exemption from IGST for the import of medicines for individuals who are suffering from life-threatening diseases. The case of the petitioner appears to be eminently qualified for the grant of such exemption, it said.
Advocate T Sanjay, counsel for the petitioner, said that the child needs several bottles of Risdiplam and the price of the same is unbearable to an ordinary citizen.
According to the petitioner, she is incurring huge medical expenditures for his treatment by way of hospital and medical equipment expenses. Such huge expenses are beyond the means of the petitioner, who is jobless and survives on the remittances of her husband, who is working in Dubai. The total amount incurred by her for the purchase during the period from March 16, 2022, to February 10, 2023, alone comes to Rs 24,26,668, the plea stated.