Japanese firm, director booked for overpriced medical devices

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 17

A Japanese company dealing in cardiac catheters and other medical devices, its director and sales head in India have been booked for cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy for increasing prices of its products in violation of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA).

The FIR under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC, and Sections 7 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered in the Gurugram Sadar police station on Friday on the orders of the district courts.

Sharad Mehrotra, president of the Gurugram Chemists and Druggists Association, had filed a criminal complaint in the district courts when the police did not register an FIR after he had submitted a complaint and documents obtained under the RTI Act, pointing towards violation by the company.

Amandeep Chauhan, Drug Control Officer, Gurugram, had inspected several premises, including that of the Japanese company, on March 26, and found that the company had raised prices of cardiac catheters and neurovascular guidewires beyond the level permitted by the NPPA.

These are non-scheduled drugs, prices of which are fixed by the manufacturers. But under the NPPA provisions, the increase in the MRP during the preceding 12 months must not be more than 10 per cent.

The company, however, had hiked the prices of cardiac catheters by 19 per cent and that of neurovascular guidewires by 12 per cent.

On June 1, when a team from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) led by Assistant Drug Controller Manmohan Taneja conducted another inspection, it was found that the value of the stock was Rs 4.14 crore more than the prescribed limit.

Subsequently, the FDA team visited some renowned hospitals in Gurugram and it was found that the price charged by the Japanese company was even higher than the wrongfully enhanced MRP.

The company failed to give a satisfactory reply to the notice served on it.

When the authorities failed to take action against the company, Mehrotra lodged a police complaint, claiming it must have cheated many people of several crores of rupees as it had in operation for long.

The police, however, did not take action.

Armed with documents obtained under the RTI, Act, Mehrotra moved a criminal complaint in the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge. Within 24 hours, the Judge ordered registration of an FIR under Section 156 (3) of the CrPC.