Issue licences to drug manufacturers : Patna High Court to Govt

Patna : The Patna High Court quashed a Bihar government notification to deny licences to manufacturers of ayurvedic and homeopathic medicines having alcoholic content.

A bench of Chief Justice Iqbal Ahmad Ansari and Justice Samarendra Pratap Singh said the state government did not have the authority to deny issuance of licences for manufacturing medicines.

The court was hearing two petitions that challenged the notification dated March 17, issued ahead of a total liquor ban imposed in Bihar in the first week of April.

The court said it was wrong to deny licences to companies for manufacturing alternative medicines with alcoholic content.

The government counsel told the court that there could be misuse if the state allowed the drug companies to use liquor for medicinal purposes.