Lok Sabha Secretariat submits affidavit in Mahua expulsion case
Sharing login details for typing help is unfathomable, it tells court and adds that this can make the system susceptible to security hazards
The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has cautioned against the manufacture and sale of unapproved drugs, specifically warning against those falling under the category of “New Drugs”.
The drug regulator, citing the example of Meropenem (antibacterial agent) and Disodium EDTA (to treat calcium overload), noted that they had received information that some manufacturers were involved in manufacturing or marketing of drugs which the CDSCO did not yet approve.
In its communication to all zonal and subzonal offices of the CDSCO and the Indian Drugs/Pharmaceutical Association Forum, it said that no new drug should be manufactured for sale unless the licensing authority approves it, and those who intend to manufacture a new drug should make an application for grant of permission to the Central licensing authority.
It directed that all manufacturers must be made aware of Meropenem and Disodium EDTA. “The matter should be conveyed to all manufacturers and the product permission granted for these drugs should be cancelled,’’ it noted.
The Lok Sabha Secretariat has told the Supreme Court that expelled Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra’s defence that she shared her “confidential” Lok Sabha login credentials with Dubaibased business tycoon Darshan Hiranandani to help her type her questions was “unfathomable”.
The Secretariat said Ms. Moitra’s login credentials, that is user ID and password for the Lok Sabha Members’ Portal, were used 47 times from the IP address belonging to Mr. Hiranandani, including when she was not in Dubai.
“Sharing credentials to the login portal can be susceptible to potential national security hazards and can not only render the system of the Lok Sabha to cyberattacks and potentially disable the system, but can also potentially cripple the functioning of Parliament. These are valid concerns of national security as well as the dignity and independence of Parliamentary functioning,” the Lok Sabha Secretariat
Trinamool leader Mahua Moitra addressing the media in New Delhi in December 2023.
submitted in a 41page affidavit.
The Secretariat was responding to a petition filed by Ms. Moitra, who has challenged her expulsion as an MP.
Ms. Moitra had argued that the sharing of login details did not mean giving control of the portal. Giving controlled access to login details cannot be termed as “hacking”. There was no violation of ethics involved as there was no quid pro quo. No MP herself operated the portal. Out of necessity, any MP shared login details with her secretaries, delegates or nominees. There had been no code of conduct or rules for authorised or controlled access to the portal, she had said.
“She was expelled without there being a set of rules for sharing the access code,” senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, appearing for Ms. Moitra, had submitted in the Supreme Court.
But the Lok Sabha Secretariat said an MP was given enough personnel to help her with her official responsibilities.
It referred to the Committee on Ethics’ observation that an act of sharing of login credentials of an exclusive portal to unauthorised personnel amounted to a violation of the punitive provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
A Bench led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna has listed the case for hearing in the week starting on May 6.