Lahore High Court Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Monday disposed of a petition filed by the Judicial Activism Panel (JAP), for a judicial inquiry into the deaths caused by Punjab Institute of Cardiology’s (PIC) spurious medicines. Earlier, a provincial law officer presented a copy of an inquiry report into the deaths and assured the court that the report would be released on the internet within a week. He said steps were being taken for the implementation of the recommendations made in the inquiry report. The chief justice, after hearing the arguments, disposed of the matter as it ‘had already borne fruit’. The JAP, in its petition, said that the Punjab government had failed to check the sale of spurious drugs or take action against mafia groups involved because no mechanism was put in place to check the sale of sub-standard medicines. The petitioner-firm prayed the court to constitute a judicial commission to probe the matter, fix responsibility and make recommendations by giving exemplary punishment to those responsible for the tragedy.
