Supreme Court Seeks Centre, States' Response On Quality Of Antiretroviral Drugs For HIV Treatment

The Supreme Court sought responses from the Central and State governments on the quality of antiretroviral therapy drugs used for treating HIV patients in India.

New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Monday sought a response from the Central government and the State governments regarding the quality of antiretroviral therapy drugs for treating HIV patients in the country.

The matter was heard by a bench comprising justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan. The apex court was hearing a plea filed in 2022 by the NGO Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS and others. The plea has raised concerns over the supply and quality of antiretroviral (ARV) therapy drugs. ARV therapy involves the treatment of people infected with HIV using anti-HIV drugs.

During the hearing, a counsel, representing the petitioners’, contended before the bench that till now only four states’ have furnished their response to the affidavit filed by them. The petitioners claimed that they have highlighted certain issues, including the process of procurement and the quality of drugs. After hearing submissions, the bench said, “Let all the states file their responses…..”.

The bench asked the Central government and the states to file their response within a month on the affidavit filed by the petitioners’ in September, 2024. The apex court has scheduled the matter for further hearing in the first week of April.

In July, last year, the Central government informed the top court that the government was ensuring the availability of free, life-long ARV drugs for all people living with HIV through ARV therapy centres under the National AIDS Control Programme.

The top court was informed that there was adequate stock of all ARV drugs nationally under the programme. The petitioners’ counsel had argued, citing the developments, which took place since the filing of the petition, that there was no shortage of ART drugs at present, however, flagged issues regarding procurement and quality of the drugs.