The Madras High Court on Friday asked for answers for the reason the Central Government is depending only upon the private manufacturers to supply COVID-19 vaccines at a hefty amount when the government-owned facilities layout of sight such as the Integrated Vaccine Complex at HLL Biotech Ltd (HBL), Chengalpattu. The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was moved to the Madras HC by one A Veronica Mary where the bench of Justices MS Ramesh and B Pugalendhi was dealing with. The bench reviewed that there were various private companies venturing in the field of vaccine production, including the HBL facility in Tamil Nadu.
The court was also acknowledged that the licenses of manufacturing of four units as such were terminated for not cohering to the good manufacturing practice (GMP) standards. The bench also marked that the two vaccines available in India i.e., COVISHIELD from Serum Institute of India and COVAXIN from Bharat Biotech are a private enterprise, and the rates at which they are presently available in India, the government has to spend a hefty amount of money if they are all sold
The plea to resume the Chengalpettu vaccine manufacturing unit was also lately made by Senior Advocate P Wilson during hearings conducted by Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy in the suo moto case registered to monitor COVID-19 management in Tamil Nadu.
In response, Additional Solicitor General R Sankaranarayanan had personally submitted on Friday that tenders with respect to the same have been floated and that a decision may be taken by the following week.
