RANBAXY LABORATRIES LTD Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner company is engaged in the business of manufacture inter alia of bulk drug 'Pentazocine' utilised in the formulation of the injunction of the said drug and sold under the brandname `Fortwin'. The petitioner, vide an order dated 29.08.1995 issued by respondent No. 1, was granted exemption from the purview of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 1995 (hereinafter to be referred to as, `DPCO'). The effect of this notification was that it enabled the petitioner company to fix its own price for the drug for the period of exemption.

(2.) DPCO was published in the Gazette of India dated 06.01.1995 and was made in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (hereinafter referred to as, `EC Act'). Para 25 of the DPCO authorised the Government to exempt any manufacturer from the operation of the provisions of the Order subject to such conditions as may be deemed proper. Since the matter in controversy would require reference to certain paragraphs of the DPCO, the same are reproduced hereunder for convenience of reference :-

(3.) The exemption notification / order dated 29.08.1995 was, thus, issued having regard to the factors specified in clause (e) of sub-paragraph 2 of paragraph 25 of the said order as the Central Government found that it was in public interest to exempt the bulk drug formulation from the operation of the DPCO. It may be noticed that the drug in question was being imported earlier and the petitioner company through its own process of research and development made this drug available in India. The exemption period was, thus, in the nature of a moratorium period given as an incentive for the effort of the petitioner company in bringing the drug indigenously manufactured into the market. The said notification / office order is as under :- " Government of India Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals. New Delhi, the 29th August, 1995 O R D E R S.O. 7153 (E), in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-paragraph (1) of Paragraph 25 of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 1995, the Central Government having regard to the factors specified in clause (e) of sub-paragraph (2) of paragraph 25 of the said order and also having been satisfied for the need to do so in public interest hereby exempts the bulk drug and formulations based thereupon specified in column 2 of the Table below which is manufactured by the company specified in the corresponding entry in column 3 from the operation of price control stipulated in sub-paragraph (1) of paragraph 3, sub-paragraph (1) of paragraph 8 and sub-paragraph (1) of 9 of the said order, upto the period as indicated in column 4 thereof. <frm>TABLE ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- S.No. Name of the Name of the Period upto which the Product Company exemption is granted. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 2 3 4 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Pentazocine and M/s. Ranbaxy 31.10.1999 formulations Laboratories Ltd. sd/- (K. MULALIDHARAN) DESK OFFICER"</frm>