The Himachal Pradesh High Court has refused to grant bail to Avindra Shukla, the owner of M/s Glenmars Healthcare, a pharmaceutical company operating in Baddi area of Solan district, where substantial quantities of spurious and substandard drugs have been seized from the unit.

Important Points:
Court Ruling:

• Justice Virender Singh refused bail, stating the seriousness of the offense and the impact on society.

• The court observed, "The recovery of a huge quantity of substandard/spurious drugs speaks voluminously about the seriousness of the offence."

Seized Drugs:

• The impounded drugs consisted of:

• Amoxus-500 capsules (69 boxes)

• Doxtil-200 tablets (79 boxes)

• MEF 200 tablets (100 boxes)

• Zathron-500 tablets (26 boxes)

• Roxim-500 capsules (66 boxes)

• Ampicillin-500 capsules (19 boxes)

License Violation:

• Even though the manufacturing license of M/s Glenmars Healthcare has expired on January 27, 2023, the company continued trading in allopathic drugs.

• The lab test was conducted, which shows that five of the medicines had active ingredients at 00.00% while the sixth had only 83.71%.

Court Observations:

• Granting bail to Shukla will give a "wrong signal to society" and encourage similar crimes.

• The impact of these spurious drugs was also mentioned to the court, which is on the health of consumers who had consumed them unknowingly.

Previous Violations:

• The state government counsel referred to another case against Shukla in 2020, which is pending in Nalagarh's special court.

Legal Action:

• Shukla was arrested on October 6, 2023, after an FIR was filed against him under various sections of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, by the Drugs Inspector of Baddi. He is currently lodged in the sub-jail in Nalagarh, Solan district.

The stern decision of the court denying bail underlines how seriously spurious drugs-related offenses are taken not merely in terms of endangering public health but the very necessity of strict enforcement to discourage such activities.