The Hindu : Death for spurious drug sellers mooted

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 13, 2003

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Death for spurious drug sellers mooted

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI Aug. 12. The Union Health Minister, Sushma Swaraj, said here today that the Government would soon bring in legislation to increase the punishment from life sentence to death sentence for those who manufacture or sell spurious drugs which caused death or grievous injuries.

Speaking to reporters after receiving the interim report of the Mashelkar Committee on spurious drugs, Ms. Swaraj said the Centre had been in favour of such a move and now the high-power panel also recommended it.

Asked whether it would not go against the principles of human rights, she said no human right activist could protest, as causing death or grievous injuries due to spurious drugs could not be treated on a par with other types of crimes. It was a crime against humanity, committed purely for monetary gain. In the case of murder or deaths due to other causes, on the other hand, some reason or other like provocation could be cited.

Apart from the maximum punishment of death penalty, the high-power committee has recommended that the level of punishment be raised for other offences also under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act (DCA) and that all offences under the legislation be made cognisable and non-bailable, irrespective of the gravity of the offence.

It recommended that the police too be authorised to file prosections for spurious drug offences under DCA to make penal action more effective and successful. Now, only drug inspectors are authorised to launch prosection under the Act. Noting with "dismay'' that most of the cases relating to spurious drugs now remained undecided for years together, the committee observed that "there is no greater deterrent than a severe and sure punishment''.

Headed by the Director-General of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, R.A. Mashelkar, the panel criticised the Centre for not taking any step to strengthen the Central Drug Standards Control Organisation under the Union Health Ministry despite a specific recommendation in this regard by the Pharmaceutical Research and Development Committee in 1999. Speaking to reporters after presenting the report, Dr. Mashelkar said the measures proposed in the interim report related to only allopathic drugs. The final report, which would be ready by October-end, would address regulatory issues of products of ayurveda and other indigenous systems of medicine.

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