A division bench of the Kerala High Court has stayed the Kerala drug controller's new directives related to storage condition of drugs in wholesale and retail outlets in the state.

The stay was granted based on a petition filed by the All Kerala Chemists and Druggists Association (AKCDA) challenging a High Court single bench directive to the state drug controller to strictly implement the rules related to storage condition of drugs in wholesale and retail outlets in the state.

The court, which started the hearing last week, ordered the drug controller to not implement the rules for one month's time, and has posted the case for further hearing on 19/9/2004.

It may be noted that though the rules were applicable to fresh licenses since 1/07/2004 and in case of existing licenses from 01/01/2005, the DC had later extended the ruling on new outlets till September.

Pharmabiz also had reported the department was unlikely to strictly implement the rules for the practical difficulties faced by the retailers. The department officials had insisted on the 150 cubic feet wooden storage condition and full wooden panels on an experimental basis in some new outlets and found the pharmacists at the outlets were finding it difficult to locate the drugs.

The DC's order was necessitated following a single bench directive to the drug controller to cancel the license of retail outlets if they fail to strictly comply with the rules, while considering a writ petition O.P.No.10793 of 2002 (1) filed by a few companies challenging the prosecution initiated by the drug control department on the storage condition for Oxytoxin.

The fresh guidelines include storing drugs in cool place (below 25 degree C), mandatory thick walled wooden shelves with wooden shutters in retail outlets, mandatory minimum of 150 cubic feet storage space in retail shops, wooden paneling on the walls, not to store drugs in open racks, shelves or on counters made of glass etc.