The Delhi High Court on Monday refused to halt trial court proceedings against Indian cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir, his charitable foundation, and others facing allegations of illegally stocking and distributing COVID-19 medicines.
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna said the court would hear Gambhir’s plea for quashing the FIR and reversing an April 9 order that lifted the earlier stay on the proceedings on August 29, but denied any immediate reprieve.
“When a stay is granted, you stop appearing and the investigation comes to a standstill. That cannot continue indefinitely,” the judge remarked to Gambhir’s lawyer, who had sought restoration of the stay.
Advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai highlighted Gambhir’s credentials as a former MP, cricketer, and philanthropist, saying he had supplied oxygen cylinders and medicines during the pandemic. The court, however, said such submissions were irrelevant to the case.
“You are name-dropping as if it will make a difference. It does not work here,” Justice Krishna said, adding that any restoration of the stay would require notice to the prosecution.
The counsel argued that the stay was vacated without hearing the petitioners and urged the court to act before the next trial date, September 8, to prevent summons being issued to Gambhir’s wife and mother, both trustees of the foundation.
The case stems from a 2021 complaint by the Delhi Drug Control Department, which accused Gambhir, his foundation CEO Aprajita Singh, his mother Seema Gambhir, and wife Natasha Gambhir of violations under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, including stocking and distributing medicines without a licence.
The trial court had earlier summoned them for offences under Sections 18(c) and 27(b)(ii), which prescribe penalties including imprisonment of three to five years and fines.
Previously, the court initially stayed the proceedings on September 20, 2021, before the stay was lifted earlier this year.
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