In its hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) on COVID-19, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court today came down heavily on the state government and Maharashtra Food and Drugs Administration (FDA). Two days back, on April 19, the Nagpur bench had directed the state government to ‘immediately’ release around 10,000 vials of the drug Remdesivir to COVID-19 hospitals in Nagpur. Since the state failed to provide the same, the high court lashed out at the government.

“If you don’t feel ashamed of yourself we are feeling ashamed of ourselves for being part of such a nasty society. We are not able to do anything for the helpless patients of Maharashtra.  You don’t have any solution, what nonsense is this (sic)?” the bench said during the hearing.

The suo moto PIL is on the oxygen shortage, non-availability of antiviral drug Remdesivir, and Tocilizumab injections, a drug used for treating critically ill COVID19 patients,  and hospital beds in Nagpur district of Maharashtra. Remdesivir is an investigational antiviral drug to fight SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus infection.

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Meanwhile, the state government today removed FDA commissioner Abhimanyu Kale over Remdesivir procurement row. This comes in the wake of the controversy surrounding the procurement of Remdesivir by Mumbai’s Bharatiya Janata Party leaders from Daman-based pharmaceutical company Bruck Pharma.

Amid the second wave of COVID-19 in the country, with daily new coronavirus cases almost touching 300,000, a shortage of Remdesivir is being felt across India.

As disparity over the distribution of Remdesivir was reported amongst various districts, the division bench asked Nagpur collector Ravindra Thakare to make a fair and equitable distribution among all COVID hospitals in the district through their in-house pharmacies.

In the hearing today, the counsel for the state informed the state has not supplied the vials. Advocate Tushar Mandlekar for the intervenor said that more than 100 patients were dying in Nagpur, despite which the earlier order to supply 10,000 vials had not been complied with.

Also Read: Running out of breath as scramble for oxygen cylinders begins

“There are in all 7 companies as a whole who manufacture Remdesivir injections. State of Maharashtra has no control over the manufacture and supply of Remdesivir from any of these companies,” the counsel for the state said.

The counsel informed that as far as government hospitals are concerned, daily requirement of Remdesivir is given to Haffkine Institute in Mumbai.

The court was livid at a statement made in the affidavit that stocks were not available for Nagpur district. “The reply shows that prima facie the authorities have started shirking responsibility. The affidavit does not reply about unfair distribution on 16/4 where Thane collector got more vials than those required,” said the bench.

The counsel for the state informed the bench that there was no state-level committee to distribute Remdesivir. FDA informs collector and depending on stock, collector passes distribution order. The court said the Joint Commissioner of FDA was “shirking responsibility”. Earlier, the official informed the Court that there is a State Level Committee.

The Court also came down heavily on the senior advocate MG Bhangde who appeared for the state. “You have joined hands with officials in Mumbai and are leaving Nagpur and other cities high and dry,” the Court said.

A division bench of justices Sunil Shukre and SM Modak were hearing the matter. Justice Shukre directed the state to submit the complete data of Remdesivir distribution for Nagpur.

After citing network issues, the bench took up the matter through physical hearing.