Supreme Court Takes Suo Motu Case On Access To Life-Saving Drugs, Flags Kerala HC's Delay In Deciding Similar Plea

The Supreme Court on Friday took suo motu cognisance of the issue of access to life-saving medicines after noting the prolonged pendency of a petition before the Kerala High Court concerning the affordability of patented cancer drugs.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana considered the suo motu case -which was registered on July 16 - today. While issuing notice to the Union on the suo motu case, the bench also requested the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court to ensure the expeditious disposal of the writ petition (WP(c) 18999/2022), which has remained pending for over four years.

At the outset, the Chief Justice said that the bench will request the High Court to decide the matter. "Several times it(Kerala HC matter) has been adjourned."

Advocate Aljo Joseph, representing the State of Kerala, informed the bench that the petitioner in the High Court petition has passed away. He submitted that the State Government has since imported the medicine in question to make it available to patients at affordable rates.

Senior Advocate Anand Grover, appearing for the husband of the deceased petitioner in the High Court, sought permission to intervene in the suo motu matter. He submitted that the case raises an important national issue because most life-saving medicines are protected by patents, making them prohibitively expensive. Although the Union Government has the power under the Patents Act to issue compulsory licences to enable affordable production, only one such licence has been granted since 2005, he pointed out.

Joseph further informed the Bench that after the petitioner's death, the Kerala High Court had continued the proceedings as a suo motu public interest litigation.  CJI Surya Kant said, "The problem is Kerala High Court...57 times it was listed." "And she died," Grover added.

The Chief Justice said that he was initially reluctant to take up the matter suo motu, but was forced to do so since the High Court was not responding.

"Initially I was reluctant to take suo motu. I thought, let the High Court take a view. But ultimately it was pointed out that the matter is not being decided," CJI said.

The CJI also noted that after the petitioner's death, the High Court expanded the scope of the proceedings by treating it as a suo motu PIL. Grover clarified that the Kerala High Court matter had a much narrower focus.

The writ petition was filed in the Kerala High Court in 2022 seeking a Government Use licence under Section 100 of the Patents Act to enable affordable generic production of Ribociclib, a medicine to treat cancer.

The Union Government had declined to issue such a licence on the ground that breast cancer did not constitute a matter of national urgency.

Although the original petitioner died during the early stages of the litigation, the High Court continued the proceedings suo motu, by titling it "In Re Exorbitant Pricing of Life Saving Patented Medicines",  recognizing the larger public interest involved. The Court appointed an amicus curiae, sought reports from the Union Government, directed scientific inputs from expert bodies, impleaded pharmaceutical manufacturers and called for data from the Indian Council of Medical Research. However, the matter is still pending, despite it getting listed for final hearing 57 times since January 2023.

Last week, a working group on access to medicines and treatments submitted a representation before the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court seeking an urgent decision on the matter. A copy of the representation was sent to the Chief Justice of India as well.

Case - In Re : Access to Life Saving Medicines and Judicial Expediency in Article 21 matter | Suo Motu Writ Petition (Civil) No.19/2026