NEW DELHI: On Thursday, the Supreme Court annulled proceedings against a company accused of producing substandard drugs, stating that the trial court’s summoning order lacked any justifiable reasons. A bench comprising Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih remarked that the summoning order was entirely a “non-speaking one.”
This ruling followed an appeal filed by the company and others, challenging an October 2023 decision from the Andhra Pradesh High Court, which had rejected their request to dismiss the proceedings in a Kurnool trial court.
“However, we do not find it necessary to evaluate the arguments presented by the appellants on various grounds, as the present appeal is bound to be granted based solely on the fact that the magistrate issued the order without providing any rationale,” the bench commented, referring to the arguments made by the firm’s attorney.
The court observed, “In this case, similarly, no reasons have been provided by the magistrate, even in a perfunctory manner. The summoning order is completely non-speaking.”
In its judgment, the bench annulled the High Court’s ruling and quashed the trial court’s summoning order from July 2023 along with the associated proceedings.
The court noted that in May 2019, the Kurnool Urban drug inspector lodged a complaint under section 32 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, against the company, its managing partner, and others. The record indicated that in September 2018, the complainant collected a sample of a drug made by the company for examination, which subsequently determined that the drug sample did not meet standard quality.
The appellants faced allegations of breaching the provisions of the 1940 act by producing, selling, and distributing inferior quality drugs. Following this complaint, the trial court summoned the appellants.
