New Delhi: A Public Interest Litigation(PIL) was filed in the Supreme Court seeking directions to the central government and the states to invoke National Security Act (NSA) against people involved in fraud related to sales of COVID19 essential drugs and supplies.
The petition seeks action against individuals found to have involvement in the hoarding, profiteering, adulteration and black marketing of COVID19 related drugs and supplies.
The plea has been filed in the wake of hoarding and black marketing of COVID19 essential drugs and supplies.
Advocate Ashiwini Upadhya, a member of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), filed the petition on the basis of news reports on the deaths of affected people from Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).
There were reports on unavailability of hospital beds, high pricing and adulteration of COVID19 drugs. Alleging inaction by the states, Upadhyay contended that "due to ineffective outdated vague laws, government has totally failed to control hoarding of beds in hospitals, spurious medicine generation, profiteering, adulteration and black marketing, since this pandemic has started".
He sought directions to the central government to examine international laws relating to hoarding, profiteering, adulteration and black marketing and to take appropriate steps to insert a chapter for these offences under Indian Penal Code.
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