HC appoints team to conduct inspection on Palamur Bio's facility

THE Delhi High Court (HC) has appointed a three-member inspection team to conduct fresh inspection at the facility of Telan-gana-based preclinical contract research organisation Palamur Biosciences in connection with the allegations raised by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals India (PETA India) pertaining to abuse and neglect of animals while carrying out experimentation.

- Gireesh Babu, New Delhi

The decision was taken after considering various aspects including that the previous inspection of the facility was mired in controversy as it was conducted in the absence of the local commissioner appointed by the Court, and there were serious allegations made by PETA against the senior scientist who was entrusted by the Court for the inspection along with the local commissioner. This inspection report gave a clean chit to the facility, while the initial inspection identified several violations of the relevant rules.

Considering the argument of the PETA India (petitioner), and Committee for Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CCSEA), and Palamur Biosciences (respondents), Justice Sachin Dat-ta in an order on September 16, appointed Dr Arvind Ingle, Member of CCSEA, Dr M Jerald Mahesh Kumar, Principal Scientist CCMB, Hyderabad, and Shradha Deshmukh, Local Commissioner appointed by the Court, to conduct fresh inspection of the facility.