HC Upholds Right to Contest Drug Analyst's Report, Quashes Maxmed Case

New Delhi: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has quashed criminal proceedings against Maxmed Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd. and two other accused after finding that they were deprived of the opportunity to have a drug sample tested again before it expired.

According to a recent news report by Kashmir Observer, Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal delivered the judgment on a petition challenging proceedings based on a complaint under Sections 18(a)(i) and 27(d) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. Kashmir Observer

The complaint concerned “Amzone”, Batch No. MLI-386, manufactured in December 2013 with an expiry date of November 2015. Inspectors collected the sample from Chest and Disease Hospital, Bakshi Nagar, Jammu, on January 16, 2014. In a report dated February 11, 2014, the Government Analyst, Jammu, classified it as “Not of Standard Quality” because it failed the prescribed particulate matter test.

After receiving the report, the petitioners conveyed within the statutory period that they disputed its findings and wanted the sample analysed again. Their communication mentioned an NABL-accredited laboratory. The prosecution argued that this did not amount to a specific request for testing by the Central Drugs Laboratory, whose report is conclusive under the Act.

The Court rejected the argument that naming an NABL-accredited laboratory meant the petitioners had given up their statutory right. Examining Section 25(3) and (4), it held that a timely notice disputing the Government Analyst’s report must be given practical effect through the statutory process for Central Drugs Laboratory testing. In the circumstances of this case, the word “may” in Section 25(4) did not give unrestricted discretion to deny that safeguard.

Kashmir Observer reported that the court quashed the criminal proceedings because the petitioners had lost their opportunity to obtain Central Drugs Laboratory testing while the sample was still within its shelf life.