Ayurvedic doctor found stocking used needles, denied bail in Haryana

The Drugs control officials of Haryana has seized 125 pieces of disposable needles without sterile pack, allegedly meant for reuse, from the clinic of an Ayurvedic doctor at Rohtak, near Delhi. Based on a subsequent criminal complaint made against Dr Ramesh Kumar Satija, BAMS, the Rohtak Court has denied bail to the accused and has sent him on judicial imprisonment for two weeks on January 27, 2004. The defence counsel argued that no offence prima – facie is made out against the accused from the records under any provision of Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 as none of the drugs taken out of possession of accused were found to be sub standard, needles were already used and no evidence exists to show that these needles were meant for sale or reuse. The court however considered the lapse as serious as the used needles could cause serious infections like AIDS, Hepatitis – B etc and Section 27(a) of Drugs Act prohibits stocking of any drug deemed to be adulterated read with Section 17 A, as such drug (needles) which is used by a person is likely to cause death or grievous hurt. “The allegation relates to possession of 125 pieces of disposable needles (for single-use) which were lying without any sterile pack and these did not contain any batch number or manufacturing date, expiry date or name of manufacturer. It is also alleged that the needles in question were found lying in a steel box, which was lying near a boiling pan. In the above circumstances prima-facie, among others, it appears that the accused verified violated mandatory provisions of Sec. 27A by stocking the needles in question in such a condition that if these are re-used by any person and these were likely to cause harm to body of another amounted to grievous hurt and could also cause his death due to the very reason of their adulteration. The accused should have destroyed or disposed off, above used, needles in question, immediately so that above referred possibility could be fully ruled out, which was not done by the accused. Such an act on the part of such an experienced doctor (as the accused claims) cannot be claimed to be an unintentional act,” the court has observed. The order was passed by Mewa Singh, chief judicial magistrate, Rohtak and the complainant was Manmohan Taneja, drugs inspector, Rohtak (Haryana).