Plea in HC to de-link Aarogya Setu app from website promoting e-pharmacies

A plea has been filed in Delhi High Court seeking direction to Centre to de-link from Aarogya Setu mobile app a website which is promoting sale of medicines through e-pharmacies.

plea, which is likely to come up for hearing on Thursday, said website http://www.aarogyasetumitr.in is linked to official mobile application Aarogya Setu in a “highly illegal, arbitrary and discriminatory manner” as website promotes and acts as a marketing tool for e-pharmacies only.

plea, filed by South Chemists and Distributors Association, said re is absolutely basis for a government owned platform being used for promoting private commercial ventures.

petition, filed through vocates Amit Gupta and Mansi Kukreja, sought direction to Ministry of Electronics and IT, National Informatics Centre and Niti Aayog to take steps so that name 'aarogya setu' or any identical/ deceptively similar name is t misused to sponsor commercial interests of arbitrarily hand picked entities.

Aarogya Setu application makes use of bluetooth and GPS to alert users who may have encountered people who later test positive for coronavirus.

plea furr sought steps for immediate closure of website.

RE | Kerala HC Refutes Interim Orders On Plea Challenging Mandatory Use Of Aarogya Setu App

It said authorities have allowed government developed mobile application 'Aarogya setu', which has been launched with a salient feature of limiting spre of COVID-19, to be used for benefit of selected handpicked companies

“ mobile application 'Aarogya setu' itself gives a link to website http://www.aarogyasetumitr.in, which gives a wrong and misleing impression to a user that website as well as information me available on it is also government mandated and approved,” it said.

homep of website states “here are some essential healthcare services you can avail from safety and comfort of your home” and n lists only e-pharmacies, it ded. 

“re is mention that medicines can also be procured by local pharmacy stores which operate offline. It is submitted that respondents (authorities) cant be allowed to misle users of a government developed and mandated mobile application to believe that drugs for treatment of COVID–19 or to contain spre of disease are available only through e-pharmacies,” plea said.

It claimed that similarity in names of mobile application and website is “intentional” and website seeks to take vant of name and goodwill which has been generated by Aarogya setu, even though website is t government owned.

plea said criteria for getting listed as a vendor on website is that entity should be an e-pharmacy, which is “arbitrary, without any intelligible differentia, wholly illegal and discriminatory”.

RE | Indian Railways Makes Installing Anti-Covid Aarogya Setu App Mandatory For Passengers

RE | Coronavirus Home Quarantine Cant Be Restricted To 14 Days: Delhi HC