Hoarding COVID Medicines: HC Directs Drug Controller To Probe Gautam Gambhir

New Delhi: Former Team India cricketer-turned politician Gautam Gambhir faces an investigation over procurement of a COVID-19 drug in large quantities.

The Delhi High Court on Monday directed Delhi’s Drugs Control department to launch a probe into how the BJP MLA got Fabiflu strips in bulk when everything was in “short supply.”

The drug controller authority has been directed to file a status report vis-à-vis the investigation within a week. To facilitate the probe, the court ordered Delhi Police — which is currently investigating COVID-19 drugs hoarding by politicians — to hand over relevant material to the drug controller.

The court did acknowledge that Gambhir may have had good intentions behind procuring the drug, but it not deem this as “responsible behaviour” at the time of a crisis.

“Mr Gautam Gambhir may have done this with the best of interests. Our issue is, is it a responsible behaviour when everything is in short supply? Should he not have realised it will become in short supply for others? Many others must have suffered on this account?” the court argued.

“The way he(Gambhir) has gone about it, he has done disservice. Ten other people would stand up and say we’ll also adopt modus operandi. This was not the way,” the bench said.

Declining a request to implead Gambhir as party, the court clarified: “We have only ordered inquiry, not said take action.”

The court ordered similar exercises to be carried out against AAP MLAs Preeti Tomar and Praveen Kumar, against whom allegations relate to medical oxygen.

The court had earlier pulled up Delhi Police for “vague and whitewashed” inquiry into the allegations of hoarding of COVID-19 medicines by politicians.

Observing that it appeared police was not interested in bringing out the truth, the court had observed: “Just because some political figures are involved is no reason not to investigate.”