The centre on Thursday told the Delhi High Court that it has increased the cap on prices of all brands of condoms in the country by 22 per cent. However, the increase in prices comes to Rs 1.48. The submission was made before a bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice RS Endlaw which was hearing a plea by pharma firms Reckitt Benckiser and JK Ansell Ltd (JKAL) who have challenged the government’s decision to put a ceiling on the prices of condoms.
During the proceedings, the central government’s Standing Counsel Sumeet Pushkarna handed over to the bench a 10 July notification issued by the National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority (NPPA) as per which the ceiling on condom prices was increased from Rs 6.56 to Rs 8.04 per condom.
Pushkarna also said that pharma firms are, however, selling condoms at much higher prices like Rs 46 per condom despite there being no stay on the government notification. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing on behalf of the firms, agreed that they have been selling at higher prices but contended that their products are ‘devices’ not ‘medicines’ and thus would not fall under the Drug Price Control Order (DPCO) and therefore, no cap can be put on their prices.