The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would take up on December 3 a plea raising serious concerns about the supply and quality of anti-retroviral (ARV) therapy drugs provided to HIV patients across the country.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta noted that 16 states have still not filed their responses to an affidavit submitted by the petitioners in September 2023. “It would be open for these 16 states to file their response, if they so desire, in the meantime,” the bench observed.
The court was hearing a petition filed in 2022 by the NGO Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS and others, seeking directions to ensure the uninterrupted supply and quality assurance of ARV medicines used in the treatment of HIV-positive individuals.
Senior advocate Anand Grover, appearing for the petitioners, emphasised that the matter involves a critical public health issue concerning drug quality standards for life-saving HIV medications. When Grover pointed out that several states were yet to submit their affidavits, the bench remarked, “How long can we keep the matter pending if the states are not filing it?”
The counsel representing the Centre and some states informed the court that their respective affidavits had already been filed.
Earlier in February, the top court had directed all states to submit their responses regarding the quality of ARV drugs within a month. The petitioners had informed the court that only four states had responded to the affidavit highlighting key concerns about procurement mechanisms and the quality of supplied drugs.
The Union government had, in July last year, assured the Supreme Court that it was ensuring the availability of free, lifelong ARV drugs for all HIV patients through therapy centres functioning under the National AIDS Control Programme.
While acknowledging that there was currently no shortage of ARV drugs, the petitioners maintained that persistent issues related to procurement and quality monitoring still required judicial attention. The matter will now be heard on December 3.
