Gurugram court denies bail to man accused of making fake Mounjaro drug

A Gurugram court recently denied bail to a man accused of manufacturing and selling counterfeit Mounjaro KwikPen, a diabetes and weight-loss medication [Avi Sharma v State].

In an order dated June 20, Additional Sessions Judge Yashwinder Paul Singh said the allegations against the accused Avi Sharma were serious.

The Court added that the material on record suggested that he had committed fraud on public by selling spurious, adulterated and misbranded drugs.

"The allegations against the petitioner are quite grave. His act prima-facie appears to be committing fraud with the general public at large and selling of superious, adulterated and misbranded drugs," observed the Court.

Sharma was arrested on April 19 in a case registered under various provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act for alleged manufacture and sale of drugs without a licence, dealing in spurious drugs and falsely representing their origin or manufacturer.

Drugs Control Officer had earlier received a secret information that counterfeit Mounjaro KwikPen injections were being stocked in a car near Super Mart I in Gurugram.

A joint team of drug inspectors and police then intercepted the vehicle and recovered injections allegedly bearing Mounjaro KwikPen labels. As per the prosecution, one of the occupants of the car, Mujammil Khan, identified Sharma as the owner of the recovered products.

Sharma was then called to the spot, where he allegedly admitted ownership of the products.

"The petitioner (Sharma) could not produce any valid licence or the bills for importing the said drugs. Three labels on the drug were found to be fabricated. On search of the residential premises of the petitioner, the labels of the said drugs were recovered," the Court noted in the order.

The Court added that the seized injections were labelled as Mounjaro KwikPen, a product manufactured by Eli Lilly Italia SpA in Italy and imported into India by Eli Lilly and Company (India).

The seized injections carried a total maximum retail price of more than ₹56.15 lakh and were allegedly not stored under the temperature conditions prescribed on their labels, as per the prosecution.

The Court observed that investigators had contacted the manufacturer of the original Mounjaro injections, who allegedly confirmed that the seized products had not been manufactured by them.

It also recorded the allegation that Sharma was manufacturing another product called "Tone Up" while claiming on its label that it was manufactured in Japan despite allegedly lacking a valid manufacturing licence for it..

Seeking bail, Sharma argued that he had been in custody since April 19 and was no longer required for investigation.

He contended that the case rested primarily on the statement of a co-accused. He also argued that no drugs had been recovered directly from his possession, and that no independent witness had been associated with the recovery.

He further claimed that his "Tone Up" project was only at an experimental stage and had never been sold in the market.

However, the prosecution said that Sharma was the principal accused and that his release could hamper the investigation.

Advocate Vipin Gupta appeared for Avi Sharma (accused).

Drugs Control Officer Amandeep Chauhan appeared in person for the State.

[Read Order]