Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) on Thursday filed a fundamental rights petition (SC/FR 65/2023) in the Supreme Court naming 47 Respondents, in relation to the steps taken by the Cabinet of Ministers, the Minister of Health, the Ministry of Health, and the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) to procure medical supplies from two Indian private companies.

TISL says this case is filed in the public interest and challenges the role of the cabinet of ministers in procuring medical supplies through unregistered private suppliers, the role of the NMRA in providing a Waiver of Registration to procure medical supplies from unregistered suppliers, non-compliance with procurement guidelines including the emergency procurement process and abuse of process by the Minister of Health and the Chief Executive Officer of the NMRA.

In the petition, TISL has also alleged that the citizens’ fundamental right to equality and the right of access to information have been violated, along with serious disregard for the health, safety and well-being of the people and in total abuse of public trust and public funds. TISL further seeks further information on these transactions.

The petition seeks interim orders against the procurement based on this unsolicited proposal and the placing of any orders, approvals for Waiver of Registration of 38 drugs, importation of said drugs into Sri Lanka and making payment for such drugs.

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, the Director-General of Customs, the Inspector-General of Police, Savorite Pharmaceuticals (Pvt) Limited, Kausikh Therapeutics Pvt Limited and the Attorney-General have also been named as respondents in the petition.

The Petitioners state that the Ministry of Health has sought a Waiver of Registration [hereinafter sometimes ‘WoR’] from the NMRA, presumably under and in terms of Section 109 of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority Act, No. 5 of 2015, to import medicinal supplies from one or both the said Private Entities, a procedure which is reserved to be invoked under specific and exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the NMRA. Very significantly, ex facie, the mandatory conditions precedent that would justify such a waiver, are singularly absent in the instant case.

The Petitioners state that the conduct of the Minister of Health reeks of bias, procedural irregularity, preference and/or partiality towards a single supplier, absence of integrity and total disregard for the need to provide fair, equal and maximum opportunity for eligible interested parties to participate in procurement, while ensuring transparency, and consistency in evaluation and selection procedure. 46. The conduct of the Minister of Health ex facie demonstrates that the decision to obtain medical supplies from KTL was made, and that the ex post facto formalities sought to be followed, are farcical attempts to bring some semblance of legitimacy to an utterly irregular and/or wrongful and/or unlawful process.

The petitioners state that it is manifest that the Minister of Health has taken a keen personal interest in KTL, and has proceeded to act with unrestrained bias in proposing the name of KTL, a hitherto blacklisted, unregistered supplier to procure medical supplies to Sri Lanka, notwithstanding the serious ramifications on the health, safety and well-being of the general public which consumes such supplies.