IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Civil Writ Petition No.173 of 2010 (O&M) Date of decision: 14.10.2011 M/s Jackson Laboratories Pvt. Limited ....Petitioner versus Union of India, and others ....Respondents CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE K. KANNAN ---- Present: Mr.Vikram Chaudhary, Advocate, for the petitioner. None for the respondents. ---- 1. Whether reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment ? No. 2. To be referred to the reporters or not ? No. 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the digest ? No. ---- K.Kannan, J. (Oral) 1. The writ petition challenges the order blacklisting the petitioner Pharmaceutical Company from making any supplies to Government hospitals and Institutes as a permanent measure. Initially an order was said to have been made debarring supplies in May, 2001 for a period of 3 years but communicated to the petitioner only in September, 2001. The petitioner appears to have raised his objection but nothing came of it and the order barring him from supplying medicines for a period of 3 years continued. When the petitioner assumed that after 3 years period of moratorium Civil Writ Petition No.173 of 2010 (O&M) - 2 - expired, he would be in a position to be considered for effecting supplies from the year 2004. He appears to have been informed that the test carried out on the supplies of drugs with the Central Drugs Laboratory of Kolkata, brought out the supplies to be substandard, falling within an enumerated category-A defects. In terms of the circular issued by the Health Ministry, category-A defect was to entail the barring of supplies permanently especially when there were repeated failures. This was applied to the petitioner and the petitioner was permanently barred from effecting supplies. This was a subject of challenge before this Court in CWP No.9054 of 2009 when this Court by an order dated 09.06.2009 directed the respondent to consider the representation through a speaking order. The order has been passed on 28.07.2009 purporting to act on a lab report for justifying the decision to debar the petitioner permanently. 2. The learned counsel for the petitioner contends that the nature of test that was applied and the result in the said report were themselves outdated and untenable since they were applying the standards of test on drugs that were manufactured post December 2000, when the test must have been with reference to the manufacture of drugs as per Indian Pharmacopoeia of 1996. The impugned order does not address the petitioner's objections regarding how the alleged defect in goods could be assessed for drugs manufactured prior to December, 2000. It shall not be possible for this Court to join issues on the technical details of what Civil Writ Petition No.173 of 2010 (O&M) - 3 - would be the appropriate test. The petitioner is entitled to state this objection and also bring materials to establish that the manner of assessment made by the respondent was not as per the accepted standards of assessment relevant for the drugs manufactured before December, 2000. The petitioner would also be at liberty to show as to how the lab report secured from the Central Drugs Laboratory of Kolkata is defective and how it cannot form the basis of an assessment for blacklisting the petitioner. 3. A notice giving a date for bringing such material as the petitioner may think necessary and to show as to how the report of the Drugs Lab, Kolkata is not to be acted upon, shall be given by the respondents 2 and 3. The petitioner shall be informed of the date when the petitioner could nominate a representative or himself to plead his case and bring such proof as outlined above within 30 days from the date of receipt of copy of this order. A decision shall be taken on the objection raised by the petitioner, on the proof adduced by him within a further period of 4 weeks from the date of the conclusion of the enquiry. 4. The writ petition is disposed of as above. (K. KANNAN) JUDGE 14.10.2011 sanjeev