CUTTACK: Orissa high court on Tuesday extended its status quo order on operating on-campus medicine stores in all govt medical colleges and hospitals, district headquarter hospitals, sub-divisional hospitals and community health centres in the state.
The interim order was issued on pleas by 59 owners — 33 petitions filed on May 9 and 26 petitions on May 14 — seeking relief against eviction.
The two-judge bench of Chief Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh and Justice Savitri Ratho posted the matter after two weeks for final hearing and stated that the interim order shall continue. The bench also granted time till then to the state govt to file a counter affidavit and the petitioners to file their rejoinders by then, expecting them to be ready for hearing without seeking further adjournments.
The petitions were filed by the medicine shop owners in the form of appeals against the April 19 order of a single-judge bench declining to interfere with state govt’s decision to evict them.
On Feb 27, 2015, the state health department notified the decision on not extending licences or issuing new ones for 24X7 on-campus medicine stores in all govt medical institutions for implementation of Niramaya scheme. In the same year, those with licences to run on-campus medicine stores filed petitions challenging the notification.
There were 146 licence-holders who could operate on-campus medicine stores inside govt health institutions .
As many as 87 such on-campus medicine stores were continuing to operate across the state, deriving benefit from interim stay orders by the high court till they were vacated when Justice S K Panigrahi passed the judgment on a batch of petitions on April 19.
Justice Panigrahi said, “The free medical care policy (Niramaya scheme) by the state marks a monumental step forward in prioritising public health and welfare. By providing essential healthcare services and medications at no cost to citizens, this policy demonstrates a commitment to ensuring access to healthcare for all, regardless of socio-economic status.”
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