SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has directed the Jammu Kashmir Medical Supplies Corporation Ltd to file a detailed affidavit outlining the supply of life-saving anti-haemophilic drugs to Government Medical College Srinagar for the financial year 2025–26, as it heard a Public Interest Litigation highlighting an acute shortage of essential medicines across the Union Territory.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal directed the corporation to submit the affidavit within three weeks, fixing April 29 as the deadline for compliance. The court also permitted the petitioner’s counsel, advocate Iman Muiz, to file an additional affidavit in response to compliance reports already submitted by the authorities.
The PIL, filed in August last year, seeks urgent judicial intervention to ensure uninterrupted availability and supply of anti-haemophilic drugs, including critical clotting factor concentrates such as Factor VIII, Factor IX, and Von Willebrand factor, to GMC Srinagar and other designated treatment centres across Jammu and Kashmir. It further seeks directions for the immediate release of all such drugs currently lying stocked with JKMSCL to hospitals, in accordance with annual and supplementary requisitions raised by the concerned agencies.
Appearing for the petitioner, counsel submitted that the grievance is two fold: a complete lack of availability of anti-haemophilic drugs in hospitals despite sanctioned budgets and approvals, and longstanding systemic deficiencies in the processes of requisition, procurement, and supply. The court was informed that these delays and irregularities have created a situation where patients suffering from haemophilia are forced to endure severe hardship in accessing life-saving treatment.
The petition also drew attention to an official communication dated February 12, 2025, issued by the Head of the Pathology Department at GMC Srinagar to its Principal, forwarding an annual demand for anti-haemophilic drugs amounting to approximately Rs 31.91 crore. Despite the passage of considerable time, the demand has reportedly not been fulfilled, raising concerns over administrative inefficiency and lapses in supply chain management.
The court was told that even where drugs are available in JKMSCL stocks, they have not been released to hospitals promptly, aggravating the crisis. Both counsels emphasised that the continued delay and irregularity in procurement and distribution are placing the lives of haemophilia patients at significant risk, as timely administration of clotting factors is critical to prevent severe complications and fatalities.
Taking note of the submissions, the High Court sought a clear account from JKMSCL regarding the quantity and status of drug supplies made to GMC Srinagar during the current financial year, indicating that the matter involves serious public health concerns requiring accountability and prompt corrective action. -(KL)
