Bombay HC allows use of plant near Pune to manufacture Covaxin – Times of India

MUMBAI: Bombay high court has permitted an associate of Bharat Biotech to manufacture Covaxin and other life-saving vaccines at a fully operational and ready vaccine plant on some 12 hectares of land near Pune.
A bench of Justices K K Tated and Nitin Borkar on May 6 allowed an interim application by Karnataka based M/s Biovet to direct State to hand over peaceful possession of BSL-3 vaccine manufacturing facility at village Manjari Khurd, Haveli taluka, Pune district and building/structure and manufacturing of equipment of M/s Intervet India Pvt Ltd, a multinational, who was given the land in 1973 to manufacture foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccine. Since Intervet is exiting operations in India, it entered into an agreement with Biovet to transfer the land and the entire vaccine manufacturing unit. The Deputy Conservator of Forests, (Pune division) objected that it is a reserved forest land and in September 2020 resumed it. Biovet challenged it in HC and the petition is pending.
Biovet’s advocates R D Soni and Sujay Gawade submitted an undertaking as sought by the court. It stated that upon taking possession of the BSL-3 vaccine manufacturing facility “ the land shall be used for manufacturing of lifesaving vaccines including “Covaxin” used for Covid19.” Also, it shall be subject to further orders of the court and it shall not claim equities in view of the permission to take over the vaccine manufacturing unit. Intervet’s advocate Prathamesh Kamat said it has been indemnified from any obligations and responsibilities
The judges made it clear that that it was subject to the outcome of the main petition on the dispute over the land in question. “It is not permanent. If the government wants to stop it, it has to give a notice,” said Justice Tated at the May 6 hearing. Advocate -general Ashutosh Kumbhakoni, with advocate Akshay Shinde, said he has gone through the undertaking and Biovet’s interim application may be permitted. The judge, in their order, also directed that State shall grant Biovet “appropriate permission in a time-bound manner to enable manufacture of vaccines including FMD, Covaxin and other life-saving vaccines in the plant.” The State is granted liberty to move the court for “modification of the order depending upon the Covid-19 situation in future.”