The Delhi High Court on August 19 granted interim protection from arrest to businessman Vicky Ramancha, the prime accused in the alleged US$18.8 million international scam involving counterfeit doses of anti-diabetic drug Ozempic [Vicky Ramancha Vs State of Delhi].
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna directed that no coercive action be taken against Ramancha till the next date of hearing of the matter on September 22.
The Court also directed him to cooperate with the investigation and appear before the investigating officer on August 25.
Just a week earlier, the Patiala House Court had refused anticipatory bail to Ramancha, pointing to the scale of the alleged fraud and the grave risks to public health.
Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Laler had observed that India’s pharmaceutical sector was a “strategic national asset” requiring protection from criminal exploitation. The sessions court had underlined that the supply of counterfeit medicines represented a direct threat to public health and safety, and swift legal action was essential to preserve India’s reputation as the “Pharmacy of the World.”
The lower court had concluded that the jurisdictional complexities and allegations of cross-border fraud raised issues that could only be resolved through detailed investigation, not at a preliminary stage.
This prompted Ramancha to move the High Court.
By way of background, a US-based firm named Assure Global LLC has accused Ramancha of supplying spurious drugs to the US.
It filed a complaint under Section 175(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) before the Patiala House Court, alleging that Ramancha along with his Dubai-based RNR Premier Medical Equipments Trading LLC and US-based RNR Global Procurement Corp, had entered into agreements for the supply of 125,000 doses of Ozempic.
According to the complaint, Ramancha represented that he had political connections in India and produced agreements and invoices, purportedly from China and Hong Kong’s Ouchi Pharma, notarised at Patiala House.
Relying on these representations, Assure Global paid $18.8 million. However, upon delivery, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seized the shipment, declaring the drugs counterfeit and spurious.
The matter was referred to the Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW), which, following a court order on May 29, registered an FIR under Sections 406 (breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Ramancha was represented before the High Court by Senior Advocate Manu Sharma along with advocates Abhishek Bakshi, Tanvir Nayar, Samar Khan, Yagyesh Kumar, Chetanya Hegde and Anany Rai
The State was represented by Additional Public Prosecutor Utkarsh.
The complainant was represented by Senior Advocate Maninder Singh and advocates Dinkar Takiar, Janvi, Sanjana Nair, Namit Saxena and Karan Tomar
[Read Order]