“If any process results in disenfranchising millions and millions of Indian citizens making them second class citizens in their own country in the sense of being citizens without a voting right, such a process is intrinsically arbitrary. No amount of whataboutery can justify it”

-Justice Ujjal Bhuyan while speaking at an event in NALSAR University of Law

Supreme Court Pushes Centre to Legally Rein In Pharma Marketing
This week, the top court asked the Centre to examine a problem that has persisted for years, the lack of a legally enforceable framework to curb unethical pharmaceutical marketing. The existing Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices relies on self-regulation, limiting the consequences companies face for offering inducements to doctors. This creates an uneven system in which doctors can face professional disciplinary action for accepting benefits, while companies have fewer enforceable obligations. The committee is a step towards addressing this imbalance, but setting up another panel does not guarantee meaningful reform. The government has had years to act on concerns about pharma marketing practices. What matters now is whether the exercise leads to binding rules, effective enforcement and penalties that make companies think twice before crossing the line.

Key Rulings:

• Supreme Court orders setting up of a committee to consider issues of pharmaceutical companies brought under statutory regime for ethical marketing measures against giving freebies to doctors

Courts: 

• Supreme Court holds special Sunday hearing to take up cases concerning prohibitions and police excesses during protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar

• Earlier in the week, the top court had directed the government to ensure that no blanket prohibitions are imposed in the capital

• Supreme Court calls for reply from the state governments in PIL over vacancies in state electricity regulatory commissions

• Delhi High Court suspends as many as 125 rogue websites using Jio’s trademark for lottery and gaming services

• Supreme Court considers setting up a corpus for treatment of Spinal Muscular Atrophy patients

• Delhi High Court allows PepsiCo, Monster, Reliance Consumer to sell existing stock of their respective beverages with the “energy drink” label, stay FSSAI’s order till further orders

• Orissa High Court quashes pollution case against Tata Steel

• Supreme Court observes it did not approve modification to form 6 in the voter roll revision exercise

• Top Court issues notice on petitions challenging alleged unilateral decision making by CEC Gyanesh Kumar and seeking action against him

• Supreme Court says Calcutta High Court can adjudicate on Great Nicobar project

Quasi Courts: 

• Securities Appellate Tribunal concludes oral arguments in Jane Street case, to take up matter later this month for written submissions

Other:

• Chief Justice of India Surya Kant sets up a committee on judicial well-being to look into the mental health issues, stress among judges

• NCLT suspends functioning of one of its Mumbai benches on account of vacancies

The Big Listings: 

• Oct 13: Supreme Court to hear petitions relating to state excesses during protests in Delhi against CEC

• Oct 21: Securities Appellate Tribunal to continue hearing appeal by Jane Street challenging SEBI’s move to allegedly refuse access to important documents to the firm in the case against it

• Oct 22: Bombay High Court to hear plea against CEC Gyanesh Kumar

* The dates of hearing can change and a concrete list is prepared just a day before

Legal Moves:

• Centre appoints three new judges to the Supreme Court

• Justice PS Koshy appointed acting chief justice of Telangana High Court

• Justice Nitin Wasudeo made acting chief justice of Delhi High Court

• Gurvinder Pal Singh made additional judge at the Delhi High Court

• Rubal Bansal Maini leaves Luthra & Luthra as direct tax partner to go independent

• Abhinit Das joins DSA Legal as partner in dispute resolution practice

• M Sivaraman joins MSA Partners as partner in Chennai

• Mehak Oberoi joins CMS Induslaw as partner in Delhi

• Khushboo Rupani joins IndiaLaw LLP as Associate Partner

• Sai Parkar-Katkar joins AdaniConneX as Legal Head