The Delhi High Court on Friday directed three private companies importing Covid-19 testing kits from China to cap the selling price at Rs 400 per unit, and said that public good must be prioritised over private gain, Live Law reported on Sunday. The firms had entered into an agreement to import 10 lakh testings kits from China and distribute them in India at Rs 600 per kit – the rate approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research.

The court said that public interest must outweigh private gain amid the health crisis in the country. “The litigation between the parties should give way to the larger public good,” Justice Najmi Waziri said. “In view of the above, the kits/tests should be sold at a price not beyond Rs 400 each.”

The court’s order, passed on Friday, came on a petition filed by two companies – Rare Metabolics Life and Aark Pharmaceuticals – seeking the release of 7.24 lakh test kits from their importer Matrix Labs. The petitioners alleged that the importer was asking for full payment before delivering the kits.

The initial order was for 10 lakh kits of which five lakh were meant for ICMR. Of this, the Chinese importer has till now only delivered 2.76 lakh kits. Post the delivery of the first instalment, the importer said it will not hand over the remaining 2.24 lakh of the 5 lakh kits that were supposed to go to ICMR till it received full payment, the petition claimed.

The petitioner companies said they have paid the initial payment of Rs 12.75 crore for the import of 5 lakh test kits at Rs 600 each. According to the agreement, the remaining Rs 8.25 crore was to be paid after they received money from ICMR, said the petitioners.

After hearing both sides, the court said that Covid-19 tests “are required in the country on urgent basis” and directed that the remaining 2.24 lakh of the 5 lakh kits be delivered to ICMR the moment they arrive in India. The court also directed the companies that the remaining amount of Rs 8.25 crore (at Rs 600 per kit) should be paid to Matrix within 24 hours of receiving payment from ICMR.

Of the remaining five lakh units, out of the initial order of 10 lakh, 50,000 kits have to be kept aside for Tamil Nadu government, the court said. It added that remaining 4.5 lakh kits will be sold at the price of Rs 400 to any “government, governmental agency or private entity.”

ICMR has halted testing for the coronavirus using the Chinese rapid testing kits because of massive variations in test results, compounding the challenge to contain the pandemic. Earlier this week, the Indian Embassy in South Korea announced that a firm from the country had started manufacturing rapid testing kits for Covid-19 in Haryana’s Manesar district.

The total number of coronavirus cases in India reached 26,496 on Sunday morning and the toll rose to 824.