GROWNBURY PHARMACEUTICALS Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE prayers in both the writ petitions are common. THE Petitioners seek quashing of the "Combined Formulary" of the Central Government Health Services (,,CGHS)/Medical Stores Organisation (,,MSO) in respect of 622 Branded/Proprietary drugs announced by a letter dated 17th September 2010 issued by the Government of India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (,,MHFW) and an alternative prayer is to direct the Respondents to include the names of the drugs of the Petitioners in the Combined Formulary list already announced.

(2.) EARLIER this Court had dismissed four writ petitions seeking similar relief by an order dated 31st January 2011. These were Writ Petition (Civil) Nos.552 of 2011 (M/s AAR ESS Remedies Pvt. Ltd. v. Union of India), 573 of 2011 (M/s Vivid Biotek Pvt. Ltd. v. Union of India), 574 of 2011 (M/s Zunison Health Care v. Union of India) and 575 of 2011 (M/s Grownbury Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd. v. Union of India).

(3.) IT is stated that the Petitioners made applications under the RTI Act to which they are yet to receive replies. According to the Petitioners, the inference to be drawn is that their drugs have been wrongly left out from the Combined Formulary for reasons not indicated to the Petitioners and, therefore, there has been a violation of the principles of natural justice. IT is further contended that the exclusion of the Petitioners drugs from the Combined Formulary is arbitrary. Reliance is placed on a series of judgments including Monarch Infrastructure (P) Ltd. v. Commr., Ulhasnagar Municipal Corpn. AIR 2000 SC 2272; Veriyamto Naveen v. Government of Andhra Pradesh AIR 2001 SC 3609; M/s Raj Restaurant v. Municipal Corporation of Delhi AIR 1982 SC 1550; Onkar Lal Bajaj v. Union of India AIR 2003 SC 2562; A K Kraipak v. Union of India AIR 1970 SC 150; Ramana Dayaram Shetty v. International Airport Authority of India AIR 1979 SC 1628; Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam Ltd. v. Girja Shankar Pant AIR 2001 SC 24; M/s Erusian Equipment and Chemicals Ltd v. State of WB (1975) 1 SCC 70; Food Corporation of India v. M/s Kamdhenu Cattle Feed Industries (1993) 1 SCC 71 and Association of Registration Plates v. Union of India (2005) 1 SCC 679.