'Sub-standard drug':Retd HAL staff gets HC relief after 14 yrs

Hyderabad: More than 14 years after a retired employee of the Hindustan Antibiotics Ltd (HAL) was booked in a criminal case - approving a sub-standard drug - the Telangana high court quashed all charges against him and even imposed a fine on the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) for implicating him without enough evidence. Justice Anil Kumar Jukanti observed that his prosecution is a "sheer abuse of the process of law" and a violation of fundamental rights and ordered CDSCO to pay "exemplary costs (fine)" of Rs 50,000 to the 75-year-old former zonal manager of HAL. It found that the officer retired months before the drug was even manufactured. The case dates back to 2010 when drug inspectors seized samples of Roxythromycin tablets (used to treat bacterial infections), manufactured by a private pharma company and supplied through CDSCO from the Central Hospital, South Central Railways, at Secunderabad and found that they were manufactured in March 2009 and weren't of "standard quality". Following a report from a govt laboratory, the drug authorities filed a criminal complaint in 2012, and named the petitioner as the primary accused responsible for the lapse in quality. However, during legal proceedings, the high court found that the petitioner retired from service on Jan 31, 2009 - two months before the substandard batch was produced. The HC noted that the authorities relied on old records to link him to the company's operations, ignoring the fact that he is no longer an employee. Expressing its disapproval, the bench directed the drug authorities to "independently apply their minds before naming individuals in criminal complaints, as such actions jeopardise careers and families".