The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals has prepared a detailed note on the present status of new Drugs Prices Control Order (DPCO) in view of the recent Bangalore High Court ruling, which stated that the price control mechanism proposed in Pharmaceutical Policy 2002 was arbitrary, unreasonable and unconstitutional. The comments of the department are to be considered at the highest level of the Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers before finalizing the future course of action. Though the HC had asked the ministry to prepare a list of essential drugs to be kept out of the price control, the government is likely to fight out the issue in the Apex Court instead of going by the HC directives.

It is known that there are two options before the ministry once it decides to approach the Supreme Court. It can either modify the special leave petition it had already filed in the SC against an interim stay order issued by the HC earlier. The ministry can also think of filing a fresh SLP with a plea to quash the HC order. Whatever be the case, the issue has to be worked out after proper consultations with the Law Ministry.

The ministry officials feel that the whole process could take some time. They informed that the ministry has time till February 2003 to go for appeal against the HC order. Once the Ministry of C & F decides to approach the court, it may take another 15 days to one month before one can expect the court to grant a date for the first hearing.

What is clear beyond doubt is that the uncertainty attached to the implementation. The government had announced the new policy in February, but could not issue new the DPCO because of the Bangalore High Court's stay on the implementation of the drugs policy in May.

Adoption of the new criteria would have brought down the number of drugs under price control listed in Schedule 1 of the Drugs Prices Control Order from 74 at present to around 30, while the span of control on the domestic pharmaceutical market was to shrink to nearly 20 per cent from the current level of about 38 per cent.