Cuttack, Feb. 15: Orissa High Court has summoned principal secretary of the state health department Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra for a personal appearance over irregularities in supply of free medicine by Hindustan Latex Limited (HLL), a private agency, to poor patients at SCB Medical College and Hospital here.

“Do you want arrest warrants to be issued for production of the principal secretary….” the bench of Justice Pradip Mohanty and Justice S.K. Mishra told the state government counsel yesterday while cracking the whip on the senior IAS officer’s lack of response to its earlier order.

The bench was agitated as Mohapatra had not responded to its January 24 order summoning him, and the counsel for the government urged for more time.

On March 14, it gave one-month time and directed Mohapatra to appear in person.

The department had entered into an agreement with the HLL to supply medicines and other medical consumables to poor patients at the three state-run hospitals in Cuttack, Burla and Berhampur under the Odisha State Treatment Fund and the Rashtriya Swathya Bima Scheme Yojana.

The state government directly reimburses the cost to the HLL.

The high court has been adjudicating a PIL filed regarding the supply of free medicines to poor patients at SCB through the HLL medicine store.

The court had taken up the PIL by taking cognisance of a letter petition, filed by Loknath Rout, a Cuttack resident, on October 8, 2013.

Supply of medicines through the HLL stores at the three state-run hospitals “has turned out to be a hoax”. The ground reality at SCB indicated that poor patients are “left to the mercy of” HLL medicine stores, the letter petition alleged.

On November 5, 2013, SCB superintendent Shyama Kanungo filed an affidavit (in response to the PIL), admitting that there had been irregular supply of free medicines by the HLL to poor patients.

Kanungo also conceded that medicines supplied at the HLL stores were “more expensive” and their maximum retail price was higher than that of other brands available at non-empanelled shops.

Taking note of it, the high court had directed the health department’s principal secretary to file a specific affidavit to the reply given by the SCB superintendent.