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‘There should not be politics in public interest’: The Jan Aushadhi Kendras row and what Karnataka HC said about them

Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said the government would challenge the HC order against the closure of Jan Aushadhi Kendras.

3 min readBengaluruDec 20, 2025 10:56 AM IST

‘There should not be politics in public interest’: The Jan Aushadhi Kendras row and what Karnataka HC said about them

Jan Aushadhi Kendras are subsidised medical stores operating throughout the country since 2008 under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana. (File)

The Karnataka High Court’s recent move striking down a closure order against Jan Aushadhi Kendras operating on government hospital premises has gained political significance, with members of both the ruling Congress and Opposition BJP raising the issue. Congress leaders have already stated their intention to file an appeal against the court order.

What are Jan Aushadhi Kendras?

Jan Aushadhi Kendras are subsidised medical stores operating throughout the country since 2008 under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana. There are currently over 14,000 of these centres operating throughout the country, providing generic versions of branded medicines at lower costs.

What was the matter pertaining to Jan Aushadhi Kendras before the Karnataka High Court?

The counsel for multiple petitioners argued before the court that the state was projecting that medicines in government hospitals were free after obtaining them from one of the kendras. They also argued that contrary to patients’ expectations, the government wanted to close them down for no reason.

Against this, the state government argued that there was confusion over who had to provide medicines, which led to the state passing the order that medicines would be provided by them.

Striking down the government order closing the kendras, the Karnataka High Court said, “The abrupt closure, unsupported by demonstrable public interest, undoubtedly violates the petitioners’ legitimate expectation, resultantly, Article 14 of the Constitution of India, and does run foul of the principles laid down by the Apex Court… The State proclaims its commitment to free medicine. If medicines are indeed freely and adequately available, no patient would voluntarily purchase them from the Kendra.”

The court also made an observation that, “There should be public interest in politics and not politics in public interest.”

How have politicians reacted to the order?

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya had described the order to close Jan Aushadhi Kendras as “politically motivated”, saying in a statement on social media, “This setback to the Congress Govt should serve as a lesson that political vendetta must never come in the way of advancing public interest.”

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On the other side of the political spectrum, Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said the government would challenge the order, stating that it was intended to ensure that the treatment and medicines provided by the government hospitals were completely free, responding to queries in the Legislative Council. He added, “If it is free, it must be completely free. There should not be a system where doctors prescribe medicines to be bought outside.”