New Delhi: Holding that former cricketer and East Delhi MP (BJP) Gautam Gambhir was doing a "disservice" by hoarding and distributing strips of Fabiflu tablets to patients even if it was "to genuinely help the needy people", the Delhi High Court on Monday directed Delhi's Drug Control Department to initiate a probe into the politician's act and further directed the Delhi Police to provide all relevant documents to the authority in order to do so.
Two other politicians, Aam Aadmi Party MLAs Preeti Tomar and Praveen Kumar, have also come under the scanner of the bench led by Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh for distributing medical oxygen to patients and the court directed the Drug Control body to investigate the three matters and file a status report in this regard within a week.
The bench made these directions on a petition questioning politicians "hoarding" life saving drugs and medical equipment in times of a crisis.
Justice Sanghi orally remarked, "Mr Gautam Gambhir must have done it to genuinely help the needy people. Let us be clear about it. But the issue is, is that a responsible behaviour? Should he not have realised that medicines are in shortage for others?"
"Should he not have realised that medicines are in shortage for others...we can't shut our eyes on this...," the bench remarked, adding that there was a "clear case" made out against the BJP MP.
During Monday's hearing, advocate Virag Gupta, for the petitioner, said that he has screenshots showing Gambhir allegedly distributing the Fabiflu tablets without setting up a camp and questioned as to how he procured it.
"He (Gambhir) says that he procured it from his foundation (Gautam Gambhir Foundation). The police has simply taken a statement but nothing is there on record in the status report. No other detail was taken. How did he procure?...Nothing is there…" Gupta argued.
Advocate Satya, on behalf of another petitioner, also told the court that the police report regarding AAP MLAs Tomar and Kumar did not disclose complete facts and the probe was "shoddy".
Meanwhile, advocate Nandita Rao, appearing for the Drug Control Authority, stated that while they have not received any separate complaint from any private entity, they have failed to look into the matter and that officers of the authority despite being given the powers of police to investigate into such cases, lack proper training.
While directing the Drug Control body to file a status report in the petition, the court said it is expecting a response on how someone procured such a huge quantity of drug which was in short supply and how a chemist acted upon such a prescription.
As for the other two MLAs, the court also directed Rao that the status report also include a response on their alleged acts. The matter will next be taken up on May 31.