NW18 Regulator Should Act Swiftly In Case of Problems With Pharma Products: Bombay HC Adjourns J&J Case To Next Friday For Orders

The Division Bench of Bombay High Court on Friday adjourned the writ petition filed by Johnson and Johnson Pvt. Ltd. The writ petition was filed by the company against the order of the State Government canceling the license of the company for manufacturing baby powder.

The Division Bench again expressed its displeasure today and said that the samples were taken in 2019 and the notice was issued in 2022 to the company by the State Government. The court said that in case there is a problem with a product of the pharmaceutical company, the government should act swiftly because there is public interest involved.

After AGP Milind More informed the court that the government wants to test the samples again, the bench said the government can take the sample and send it for testing but the government needs to take action within one week of getting the reports from the labs. The bench also asked the AGP to test the samples as per the new guidelines.

Senior Advocate Ravi Kadam for the company submitted that the company is not being allowed to sell the powder to which the bench said the stoppage of sale will be subject to further testing.

The bench then posted the matter to next Friday for orders.

In the last hearing, Justice GS Patel observed that the rules have been declared defunct by the Central Government in 2021. He said that on those grounds itself, the cancellation order could be set aside.

The 3 lab reports were submitted to the court during the earlier hearings. The two reports by the government lab cleared the sample of the company. However, the private lab, in its reports had remarked that the readings of the sample were not stable

Case title: Johnson and Johnson Private. Limited. vs. State of Maharashtra