The counsel appearing for the Centre said that “the policy places a cap irrespective of resources… Above 50 lakh, we don’t have a policy. We cap it at Rs 50 lakh for everybody.”The Supreme Court has stayed a Kerala High Court order asking the Centre to provide medicines worth Rs 18 lakh to a 24-year-old suffering from a Group III rare disease — Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) — over and above the Rs 50 lakh which such patients are entitled to under a central government scheme.“Issue notice returnable in the week commencing 17th of April 2025… till the next date of hearing there will be a stay of the order of the impugned judgment,” a bench of CJI Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar said in its February 24 order.The SC was hearing an appeal by the Centre against the February 6, 2025 order by a Kerala HC division bench directing that Risdipalm — the drug used to treat SMA — be provided as a one-time measure to continue the treatment of 24-year-old Seba PA, as the matter regarding the drug’s high pricing before a single-judge bench will take at least a month to be taken up.Seba’s plea before the HC said that the drug currently costsRs 6.2 lakh per bottle. While patients up to 20 kg weight need a bottle every month, those above 20 kg may need up to three bottles per month, making the treatment cost unbearable.The Centre submitted before the SC that though the HC Division Bench had clarified that it will not be a binding precedent, “there are more than 3,000 patients across India with varying facts and circumstances” and “if citing that their case is unique is the only ground to be entitled to a grant of more than Rs 50 lakh, then that itself will become a binding precedent.”The counsel appearing for the Centre said that “the policy places a cap irrespective of resources… Above 50 lakh, we don’t have a policy. We cap it at Rs 50 lakh for everybody.”Story continues below this adAppearing for the respondents Seba P A and others, senior advocate Anand Grover along with advocate Priyanka Prakash submitted that when there are hundreds of patients suffering from the rare disease, the government could have either negotiated with the private company manufacturing the drug or issued compulsory license under the provisions of the Patents Act, 1970.Section 92 of the Act empowers the government to grant compulsory licences for patents in certain circumstances while section 100 allows it to use even patented inventions for its purposes.The bench, however, said that the government may be refraining from doing so given its “international ramifications.”Grover said that both China and Pakistan negotiated with the manufacturer “and brought down the prices substantially”. He wondered why the central government is not doing it. The CJI said, “Why would the Indian government not be interested? They will be very much interested. It’s easy to be critical on that. They would have tried their level best to get the prices down.” The SC told the Centre’s counsel to see if it can allow requests for expenditure above Rs 50 lakh on a case-to-case basis, to which the counsel said “it is already being done only on a case-to-case basis. We don’t have any other approach.”Story continues below this adThe SC in its order said it will be open to the government to examine the request made by Seba.Ananthakrishnan G. is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express. He has been in the field for over 23 years, kicking off his journalism career as a freelancer in the late nineties with bylines in The Hindu. A graduate in law, he practised in the District judiciary in Kerala for about two years before switching to journalism. His first permanent assignment was with The Press Trust of India in Delhi where he was assigned to cover the lower courts and various commissions of inquiry. He reported from the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India during his first stint with The Indian Express in 2005-2006. Currently, in his second stint with The Indian Express, he reports from the Supreme Court and writes on topics related to law and the administration of justice. Legal reporting is his forte though he has extensive experience in political and community reporting too, having spent a decade as Kerala state correspondent, The Times of India and The Telegraph. He is a stickler for facts and has several impactful stories to his credit. ... Read More© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Kerala High Courtsupreme court