Plea in Delhi HC seeks Compulsion of QR Codes on Medicines & Food Products: Notice Issued

On Tuesday, the Delhi High Court issued notice to the Central Government and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on a plea seeking the implementation of Quick Response (QR) codes on all medicines, food products, and cosmetics. 

The division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad asked the authorities to file their response to the plea and posted the case for further hearing on August 16.

The petition was filed by the non-governmental organisation (NGO) The Kapila & Nirmal Hingorani Foundation and Delhi University Professors, Dr Smriti Singh and Shobhan Singh. 

The petitioners argued that visually impaired people face difficulties in identifying medicinal products and accessing all relevant product information. The petitioners claimed that the lack of effective access to medicines, food, cosmetics, and other consumer products constitutes a denial of the rights under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, as well as the statutory rights under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

The petitioners argued that using QR codes would increase the efficacy of medical care for visually impaired patients. It would reduce medication errors, incorrect dosages, unintended drug interactions and side effects. Moreover, QR codes could also help to choose the language of the instruction and/or allow text to voice in regional languages using google translator or similar tools. In addition, the use of QR codes would also result in several social, economic, and environmental benefits. It would also help combat the growing menace of counterfeit and substandard medicines, which represent a huge public health challenge.

The petitioners were represented by Advocates Dr Aman Hingorani, Dr Shweta Hingorani, and Naseem Ahmed. The Delhi High Court has asked the Central Government and the FSSAI to file their response to the plea and has posted the case for further hearing on August 16.