Madras HC stays online sale of medicines
Chennai, Oct 31 : The Madras High Court Wednesday granted interim injunction restraining online sale of medicines till November 9.
Justice R Mahadevan passed the interim order on a plea moved by the Chennai-based Tamil Nadu Chemists & Druggists Association seeking a direction to authorities concerned to block links of websites that selling medicines online.
The court directed the Centre to file a counter and posted the matter for further hearing to November 9.
According to the association, though online shopping might be convenient to consumers, purchasing medicines from unlicensed online stores can be risky as they may sell fake, expired, contaminated, unapproved drugs or otherwise unsafe products that are dangerous to patients and which might put their health at risk.
Moreover, laws for pharmacies in India are derived from Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, Drugs and Cosmetics Rule, 1945 and Pharmacy Act, 1948.
These laws were written prior to arrival of computers and India does not have any concrete laws defined for online sale of medicines, the association submitted.
Though various amendments have been made to the Act no provision has been made to utilise information technology for sale of medicines online, it said.
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Bank fraud case: ED arrests ex UCO Bank CMD Goel on money laundering charges
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday said it has arrested former UCO Bank CMD Subodh Kumar Goel on money laundering charges in an alleged bank loan fraud case of more than Rs 6,200 crore linked to a Kolkata-based company.
Goel was arrested from his residence here on May 16 in the case being probed against Concast Steel and Power Ltd (CSPL) and others.
He was produced before the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Kolkata on May 17 which sent him to Enforcement Directorate custody till May 21, the federal probe agency said in a statement.
The Enforcement Directoratehad raided the premises of Goel and some others in April as part of this investigation.
The money laundering case stems from a CBI FIR related to the sanction of credit facilities to CSPL and subsequent large-scale "diversion" and "siphoning" of loans amounting to Rs 6,210.72 crore (principle amount without interest).
The Enforcement Directorate claimed that during the tenure of Goel as the CMD of UCO Bank, large credit facilities were "sanctioned" to CSPL which were subsequently "diverted" and "siphoned off" by the borrower group.
In turn, it alleged, Goel received "substantial illegal gratification" from CSPL.
"The illegal gratification was layered and channelled through various entities to give a facade of legitimacy.
"Investigation revealed that Goel received cash, immovable properties, luxury goods, hotel booking etc routed through a web of shell companies, dummy persons and through family members to conceal the criminal origin of the money," the Enforcement Directorate said.
Goel or his lawyer could not be contacted for a response on the allegations made by the Enforcement Directorate against him.
The agency said several properties acquired through shell or dummy companies have been identified.
These shell entities are "beneficially owned or controlled" by Goel and his family members, it claimed.
"The source of funds of these entities is linked to CSPL. Evidence gathered so far also shows use of accommodation entries and structured layering through front companies for systematic settlement of kickbacks," the Enforcement Directorate said.
Sanjay Sureka, the main promoter of CSPL, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in December, 2024 and a chargesheet was filed before the Kolkata court in February this year.
The agency had attached assets worth Rs 510 crore of Sureka and CSPL as part of two orders issued under the PMLA.
