Online
sales of prescribed medicines in India are still not taken
seriously by Indian government. There are many companies and
individuals who are openly engaging in illegal and unregulated online
sales of prescribed medicines in India.
I have been doing research on this topic for the
last six months and could not find much legal information about the
same. The only legal information provided in this regard is made
available by New Delhi based ICT law firm Perry4Law.
Further, the only legally authentic and dedicated e-commerce platform
in this regard is also managed by Perry4Law. See E-commerce
laws and regulations in India in this regard.
This may be the reason that pharmaceuticals
e-commerce players in India are not complying with techno legal
requirements as prescribed by various laws. Pharmaceuticals
e-commerce legal issues in India are still not followed by
various e-commerce players in India.
A very disturbing trend in India is that much online
health related and medicine/pharmaceuticals e-commerce portals,
especially those operating in New Delhi and NCR, are openly violating
laws of India. They deserve to be punished as they have caused
serious risk to lives of millions of Indians. But what is surprising
is that our health ministry and Indian government is sleeping over
the matter.
According to Perry4Law’s
Techno Legal Base (PTLB), many e-commerce portals,
especially in NCR region, have opened their online shops for sale of
prescribed drugs in India. They are simply violating the laws of
India including the cyber law of India and health related laws.
However, in their desire to earn profits, they have put the lives of
many on risk.
Indian government is not playing the required role
in this regard. When we have various regulations for selling of
prescribed medicines in real time and offline world, there is no
sense in allowing companies/individuals to sell life saving and life
threatening drugs that also in an unregulated and illegal manner,
opines PTLB.
We are personally aware of few people who have
engaged in e-commerce fields pertaining to health related products
and pharmaceuticals. Needless to mention, they are clearly not
following the laws of India, says PTLB.
A governmental crackdown is urgently required on
such platforms just like we tackle quacks, suggests PTLB. It is in
the own interest of online pharmacies of India to comply with various
techno legal requirements that they are openly flouting as on date.
