DHAKA: The High Court issued a rule upon the government to make medicine pricelist public as well as to form monitoring cell in preventing fake medicines and to publish the list of medicines provided by the government on national dailies.

An HC bench comprising Justice Mirza Hossain Haider and Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam issued the rule in response to public interest litigation after a primary hearing.

The court also asked the government to explain by two weeks why the list of saleable medicines, which the shoppers can sale without prescriptions, should not be prepared.

Law secretary, health secretary, director general of the drug administration department and director general of health department were made the respondents to the rule.

Barrister Badrudozza Badal stood for the petition.

On December 17, on behalf of Advocate JR Khan Robin, three Supreme Court lawyers--Sharif U Ahmed, Mirza Al Mahmud and Jiban Nesa Mukti—filed the writ with HC.

BDST: 1530 HRS, JAN 28, 2014