Delhi High Court rejects plea to dismiss FIR against Matrix Cellular in oxygen concentrator scandal

The Delhi High Court denied an FIR on Nov 20 against telecom service provider Matrix Cellular International Services and others suspected of selling defective and substandard oxygen concentrators at exorbitant prices during the height of the second wave of the pandemic.

On May 5, 2021, a First Information Report was filed at the Lodhi Colony Police Station against Gaurav Khanna, the CEO of Matrix Cellular, and other individuals who were discovered to be selling oximeters, KN-95 masks, and oxygen concentrators.

The items were retrieved from the Khan Chacha restaurant in Khan Market, the Town Hall restaurant, and the telecom company's office at Khullar Farm House.

In violation of the World Health Organization's (WHO) guidelines, which call for oxygen purity levels of 82% to 96%, the police claimed that the accused were profiting between ₹40,000 and ₹42,000 per oxygen concentrator, even though the devices were only producing 32.7% to 38.2% oxygen purity.

In the FIR, the suspects were charged with offenses under the Essential Commodities Act and with conspiracy and defrauding under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The Essential Commodities Act charges, however, were later withdrawn.

Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma declined to dismiss the FIR and the ensuing procedures, saying that the investigation is still ongoing in a number of areas.

“The allegations of selling the untested oxygen concentrators to get wrongful gains, taking undue advantage of the crisis and acute shortage of oxygen supply caused by the pandemic, and compelling needy persons to part with their hard-earned money cannot be ignored,” ruled Justice Sharma.

“The margin of profit was very high, especially in view of the ongoing pandemic. Further, the fact that the oxygen concentrators sold by the petitioners were not in compliance with the required parameters recommended by the WHO to help patients suffering from COVID-19 is still to be investigated,” he added.

Justice Sharma continued, “The petitioner faces allegations of selling defective, untested, substandard oxygen concentrators at inflated prices and allegedly providing products that were not in compliance with essential quality standards.”

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, access to reliable and effective oxygen concentrators was critical. The Supreme Court has time and again ruled that alleged non-compliance with regulatory standards and potential knowledge of such non-compliance constitute issues that are subject to investigation and determination at trial,” said Justice Sharma.

Justice Sharma further highlighted that the investigation is still ongoing to determine whether the petitioner knew that the oxygen concentrators were subpar and did not fulfill the government and WHO standards.

“The investigation is still pending, and therefore, it would not be appropriate to quash the proceedings at this stage,” Justice Sharma added.

The Covid pandemic's first wave hit India in January 2020, while the second wave that started in March 2021 was more destructive than the first, causing shortages of medical supplies, including vaccines, oxygen cylinders, and medical beds, and leading to the death of around 6 lakh people.