BS RAWAT
The All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) has shot off a letter to Flipkart India CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy on the partnership with 1MG.COM, saying e-pharmacies are ‘illegal’ and not allowed under the country's laws.

The top body of chemists and druggists, which claims to represent 8.5 lakh chemists, on September 25, 2020, wrote to Mr Krishnamurthy saying the online pharmacy space has been marred by extreme controversies, court cases, and legal issues in the last few years.

"We are forced to write to you as we discovered that Flipkart, which is owned by Walmart, has partnered with an E-Pharmacy by the name of 1MG.COM to sell prescription medicines on its platform. This partnership is against the laws in our country," it wrote.

“It is our moral duty to advice you as being an outsider,  you may not be aware of all laws which govern the space of ‘Prescription Medicines’ in India,” the letter stated.

In the letter, Rajiv Singhal, secretary, AIOCD, said, “It is possible that your company may have been ‘Hoodwinked’ ... in thinking that its operations are legal which are totally illegal and against the laws of our country.”

“Moreover, the online sales of medicines without license were injunted by the High Court of Delhi. Please ask 1 MG.Com if they have any license to sell medicines online,” he asks.

“We hope that you will rethink your partnership ... and will not allow them to sell prescription medicines against the laws from your platform,” he said.