On Sunday, May 2, upset over the reduction in Remdesivir’s quota for Maharashtra for the period May 1-10, the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court during an urgent hearing asked the Centre to reconsider its decision in view of the increased instances of coronavirus cases.
According to reports, the directives came on a suo motu PIL. Moreover, Justices Sunil Shukre and Avinash Gharote noticed the state’s quota was reduced to 3,74,500 vials for May 1-10 from 4,35,000 fixed for April 21-30, a reduction of 60,500 vials as per Centre’s May 1 order.
In the statement, the judges further stated, “Such reduction is not consistent with active cases in Maharashtra. On April 30, their numbers were 6.72 lakh and on May 1, those were 6.64 lakh. This means there is a reduction [in cases] by hardly 1.2%, while the decrease in vials is about 14.5%. This mismatch needs to be reconsidered and removed by the Centre,”
On the other hand, earlier on April 29, the Bombay High Court raised an objection over Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha MP Sujay Vikhe Patil allegedly procuring Remdesivir from New Delhi unofficially.
The court also noted that the anti-coronavirus drug is supposed to be distributed equally among needy patients. According to reports, the Aurangabad bench of the court while observing the action of Vikhe Patil, the MP from Ahmednagar in Maharashtra, stated that he might have saved the lives of poor and needy patients, however, the path he chose was wrong and "this cannot be a Robinhood situation".