Hon'ble Attau Rahman Masoodi,J.
Heard Sri Jitendra Singh, learned counsel for the petitioners and Mr. Abdul Moin, learned Additional Chief Standing Counsel for the respondents.
The petitioners are admittedly pharmacists. Their prayer is that a direction should be issued to permit the petitioners to prescribe medicines to patients in the absence of a Medical Officer in the hospital.
At the very outset we may observe that this is a very hazardous proposition made by the petitioner and is directly against the interest of public at large. The petitioners are not practitioners of medicine nor they do hold any such qualification for prescribing medicines. Even otherwise learned Additional Chief Standing Counsel Sri Abdul Moin has rightly pointed out that the definition clause as contained in the Pharmacy Practice Regulations, 2015 authorizes the Practice of Pharmacy to mean dispensing of prescriptions and not prescribing medicines. The said regulations have been published and are contained at item no.153 at page 260 of part III of Lucknow Law Times, 2015.
Having perused the same we find that the following is the definition contained in Regulation 2 (b)(i) and 2(d) of the Pharmacy Practice Regulations, 2015 :-
"2(b)(i) Interpretation, evaluation and implementation of medical orders; dispensing of prescriptions, drug orders;
(d) "Dispensing" means the interpretation, evaluation, supply and implementation of a prescription, drug order, including the preparation and delivery of a drug or device to a patient or patient's agent in a suitable container appropriately labeled for subsequent administration to, or use by, a patient."
In view of the aforesaid definition clause the judgments which have been relied upon by the learned counsel for the petitioner and have been brought on record do not come to his aid with the enforcement of this new regulation. The petitioners have thus no right to prescribe medicines.
The writ petition is misconceived and is accordingly dismissed.
Order Date :- 6.1.2016 Anand Sri./-