INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The Court of Appeal has further deferred the decision regarding the petition filed by former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, seeking
import of substandard medicine.The relevant decision was scheduled to be delivered today (04).However, the Appeals Court judge bench
comprising the President of the Court of Appeal Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne and Justice Shashi Mahendran ordered the relevant decision on
whether to grant leave to proceed with the petition to be issued on October 03, 2024.The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested
Rambukwella on 02 February over his alleged complicity in the procurement of substandard IVIG vials.The arrest came hot on the heels of
pressure from civil society activists and health sector trade unionists, who called for the immediate apprehension of the lawmaker.In
October 2023, the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) revealed that forged documents were found to have been submitted for
Customs clearance to procure a batch of vials containing human immunoglobulin, an antibody produced by blood plasma cells, which later
failed the quality tests.
