Ensure no prescription drugs sold illegally, HC directs CBI, NCB
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to carry out random raids to prevent illegal over-the-counter sale of drugs requiring a valid prescription from a qualified medical practitioner. The court has also sought a report on the action taken.
“We direct the CBI/NCB to take effective steps/conduct random raids to ensure that no drugs, which under law cannot be sold across the counter by retailers/chemists without a valid prescription from a duly qualified medical practitioner, are sold,” the Bench of Justice Deepak Sibal and Justice Harpreet Kaur Jeewan asserted.
The directive came after the high court found from the perusal of an interim status report submitted by the CBI that prohibited drugs were being sold without prescription and retailers and chemists were making fake prescriptions as a cover-up.
"Preliminary inquiry made by the CBI has, inter alia, revealed that prohibited drugs are being sold across the counter by retailers/chemists without a prescription from a qualified medical practitioner and that as a cover-up, duplicate/fake prescriptions are being maintained by retailers/chemists," the Bench observed while issuing the directions.
The current proceedings stem from multiple judicial interventions aimed at curbing the illegal manufacture and sale of narcotic drugs in Punjab and Haryana. Taking up the case, a Bench on September 4, 2024, noted that substantial steps had not been taken by the CBI or the NCB to regulate the manufacture and clandestine distribution of prohibited drugs by pharmaceutical firms, despite previous orders. The court then issued specific directions to both agencies to inform it about the measures adopted to curb the illicit drug trade in Punjab and Haryana.
Prior to the order, the court had on August 2, 2021, directed the CBI in a related matter to take over investigation being conducted by the Punjab Police. The court had observed that tramadol hydrochloride, a narcotic drug under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, was not being fully accounted for and part of the recovered stock was allegedly being misused to falsely implicate innocent persons.
Subsequently, the high court on November 21, 2024, reviewed affidavits filed by the CBI and the NCB before taking cognisance of the increasing number of cases involving large-scale drug recoveries. It also directed the CBI to constitute a special investigation team (SIT) comprising officials from the NCB and state police authorities. The DGPs of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh were also directed to provide full cooperation to the central agencies.
