Madras High Court Upholds Spurious Drug Sellers Detention
The Madras High Court upheld the detention of 13 people allegedly involved in selling spurious drugs, some fake and some expired, under the Goondas Act.
In Chennai, India, the Madras High Court, one of the three high courts of India, justices heard a petition from 13 defendants accused of re-selling expired medicines.
The Goondas Act allows suspected spurious drug sellers to be detained while being prosecuted, rather than released on bail, to deter them for continued selling until their trial date.
The 13 defendants had submitted written petitions challenging their detention, which was dismissed by the Justices Elipe Dharmarao and D Hariparanthaman who said that the detainees alleged crimes were shocking and posed a danger to public health.
“The detention orders passed in these cases are precise, pertinent, proximate and relevant, without any vagueness or staleness,” the bench observed. They added that the concern for public health and general society weighed heavily against the defendants’ release, reported the Times of India.
The detainees are accused of collecting expired medicine and returning them to the pharmaceutical retail market as valid drugs by altering the batch numbers and expiration dates.
The court also said, “As a result of this shameful scam, which sent shockwaves not only through the state, but also the whole country, the state’s reputation was drastically brought down, making importers view each medicine with suspicion and causing panic among innocent purchasers. The scam dented the city’s reputation as a hub of medical tourism.”