The Supreme Court on April 10 dismissed a plea alleging the use of drugs Remdesivir and Favipiravir, without approval, for treatment of COVID-19 and also seeking a CBI probe against ten Indian pharmaceutical firms for selling these medicines allegedly in the absence of valid licenses.

A bench, headed by the Chief Justice of India and comprising two other Justices said these issues cannot be examined by the court and dismissed the plea filed by the advocate.

In October 2020, the Supreme Court sought the Centre's reply to the plea alleging that Remdesivir and Favipiravir are being used for the treatment of COVID-19 without approval.

A bench headed by then the Chief Justice had issued notice to the Centre on the plea and sought its response in four weeks.

The advocate, petitioner in-person, had then cited the World Health Organisation (WHO) report and argued that nowhere in it were these medicines designated officially as medicines for coronavirus.

The WHO report indicated that Remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir and interferon regimens appeared to have little or no effect on the treatment of COVID-19.

In September 2020, the top court said that there was approval by the Centre on the use of Remdesivir and Favipiravir, as medicines to treat COVID-19.

The advocate also sought registration of an FIR by the CBI against ten Indian pharmaceutical firms for manufacturing and selling these two medicines for treating COVID-19 patients allegedly without valid licences.

In the plea, he had contended that Remdesivir and Favipiravir are antiviral drugs and their efficacy in the treatment of COVID patients is still under debate.