SC pulls up Ranbaxy for delayed raising of refund issue

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has admonished drug major Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd for not raising on the relevant occasion the issue of refunding Rs one crore penalty the government imposed on it for allegedly overcharging drug prices.

A Bench headed by Justice V S Sirpurkar, while hearing the Centre's plea, flayed Ranbaxy for not raising the issue when the matter was decided in May last year in the apex court.

"Why did you keep quiet at the time when the final orders were passed? You failed to raise the issue and now you want refund ... You were sleeping then or you were in coma?" Justice Sirpurkar observed.

However, the Court permitted the company to move an application seeking the refund.

The Ranbaxy counsel sought refund of Rs one crore with interest more than a year after the Supreme Court upheld the firm's position in May 2008.

The Supreme Court in January this year dismissed the review plea filed by the Centre challenging its decision of May 12 last year wherein it had held that exemption from the Drug Prices (Control) Order shall relate to drugs just manufactured in the period of exemption and they need not be sold also during the interval.