February 22, 2002

'31'

    The Kerala High Court has issued orders to stop the manufacture, advertisement and sale of the Drug named 'Immuno QR'. The Court has restrained Shri T.A.Majid of Kerala from manufacturing and marketing the drug claimed by him to be the cure for AIDS. Shri Majid, an engineer from Kerala, touting the 'magic cure' for HIV/AIDS for the last several years and selling this therapy which has been drawing gullible people from all over the country.

    Shri Majid had submitted in the Court that he had a manufacturing licence issued to him under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act which was wrongly cancelled by the controlling authority and that the Kerala High Court had granted him an interim stay in 1998. As a result, he was continuing to manufacture, advertise and sell the drugs.

    The Drugs Controller and Licensing Authority had cancelled the licence to manufacture this drug on September 6, 1997 on receipt of complaints that false claims were being widely made by the manufacturer. Earlier, the ayurvedic drugs had been approved for the purpose of "fatigue, increased resistance to diseases, impotence, skin diseases, sweating in night, cough, fever and weakness". However, the formulations were being widely advertised and sold for treatment and mitigation of AIDS and other incurable diseases. To ensure that the Licensee refrained from selling the drug as a cure for AIDS, the Drug Controller cancelled the Ayurvedic Drugs licence bearing No.16/25/93 dated March 23, 1993 issued to Shri Majid in respect of the drug 'Immuno QR' in all dosage forms.

    The Bombay High Court had also, in response to a Public Interest Litigation, restrained Shri Majid from 'making such tall and unfounded claims' through information or material including putting up a web site or posting any other information on the internet.