HC junks PIL for info on foreign companies wanting to sell vaccine in India; slaps Rs 10,000 cost

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed with costs of Rs 10,000 a plea seeking information regarding applications filed by foreign pharma companies seeking emergency use authorisation of their COVID-19 vaccines in India, saying it has become a fashion in Delhi to convert any idea into a writ petition or PIL.

The high court said such informations and details can be sought under RTI Act and writ petitions can be filed after exhausting remedies under the transparency law.

"We are dismissing the petition with cost of Rs 10,000 to be deposited in favour of the legal aid services," a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh said adding that "It has become a fashion in Delhi to convert any idea one has into a writ petition or a PIL. For every small problem a writ petition is not the solution. Writ petitions cannot be moved by people like this."


It said that in the instant case the petitioner had the option of seeking the details under the Right to Information (RTI) Act which provides for first and second appeal and only after exhausting those remedies should a petition be filed in the high court.

The order came on a PIL by a lawyer seeking liberalisation of foreign COVID vaccine usage in India.

Besides seeking details of the foreign pharma companies who have sought approval for selling their vaccines here, the plea had also urged the court to direct the Centre and Delhi government to change the existing policies with regard to import, licensing and approval mechanism for foreign vaccines.