Bombay HC strict on Sonu Sood, Zeeshan Siddique; asks Maha govt to probe how both procured Remdesivir

The Bombay High Court asked the Maharashtra government to investigate the involvement of Sonu Sood and Zeeshan Siddiqui during the hearing of a case filed against a trust for unlawfully purchasing Remdesivir.

Entertainment-news bollywood-news celebrity-news

The Maharashtra government has told the Bombay High Court that investigations and criminal complaints have been launched in cases involving celebrity Sonu Sood and Congress MLA Zeshaan Siddique over the procurement of Remdesivir vials for Covid sufferers.

According to Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni, it was discovered that Siddiqui was assisting people through the BDR foundation. The trust lacked the necessary permission to supply the medications. According to the Maharashtra government, a criminal case has been launched against the trust and its trustee, Dheer Shah, at the Mazgaon Magistrate's Court. 

In addition, a pharmaceutical firm and its four directors have been booked.


The panel of Justices SP Deshmukh and GS Kulkarni, however, inquired if the case had been filed against Siddiqui as well. "As of yet, no case has been filed against the MLA because he only directed people who approached him to the trust," Kumbhakoni said.

Also Read: "Nothing We Can't Do": Anushka Sharma Praises California Supermom. See Why?

Justice Kulkarni then asked, "But all this happened at the behest of one person. To direct someone is not an offence? Examine this before we pass order”

In relation to actor Sonu Sood assisting patients with Remdesivir vials, the Maharashtra government stated that they were asked to do so during the investigation "We went from point A to point B, then from point B to point C, till we were at Lifeline Medicare Hospital's shops. It had come from Bhiwandi's Cipla. So far, this is what we know. This is not a government-funded project. An investigation is still ongoing.”

Remdesivir, like other drugs, is purchased directly by the federal government and then distributed to states based on the number of coronavirus cases. As a result, it should not have been procured and distributed by private individuals in accordance with government rules.

"Was there any reasonable foundation for the ordinary man to know the medicines were available with either BDR Foundation or Lifeline in both circumstances, when the personalities were directly dealing with the public at large?" Justice Kulkarni said. These people portrayed themselves as messiahs without checking to see if the medicines were fake or the supply was legal.

We anticipate the state government scrutinising their behaviour in each of these cases. Because it was difficult for anyone to know who the suppliers were without their actions. We want you to look into these two's roles very carefully, and say whatever you want to say in the affidavit.”

The court went on to say, "What is the general public's opinion? In reality, the government is making every attempt to obtain the medication. However, they mislead the general public that we are doing this, but you are a separate agency that is completely unauthorized. This is a simple task. Tomorrow, someone will post on social media that the government will not come to your help, but that we will.”

The bench questioned the union government whether they had any new information on the issue. Anil Singh, the Additional Solicitor General, stated that they had spoken with the manufacturers, who stated that they had handed the allotted pharmaceutical vials to the states and that it was up to them to investigate the matter.


Trending