High Court Upholds Centre's Decision To Include All Medical Devices As Drugs

In 2018, the Centre had first brought four medical devices , i.e. nebuliser, blood pressure monitoring device, digital thermometer and glucometer, within the ambit of "drug". In 2020, all medical devices were notified as "drugs".

The Delhi High Court has upheld the Centre's decision to include all medical devices within the ambit of "drug" under the law regulating drugs and cosmetics.

A bench headed by Justice Rajiv Shakdher rejected petitions by the Surgical Manufacturers and Traders Association challenging the central government's 2018 and 2020 notifications first declaring four medical devices as "drugs" under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, and then spreading the net to cover all medical devices.

The court said the decision to include all medical devices as "drugs" was a policy matter and no case for interference was made out as there was no arbitrariness or unreasonableness.