The Delhi High Court has quashed the criminal case against Indian cricket team head coach and former MP Gautam Gambhir, his family members, and his foundation over allegations of illegally stocking and distributing COVID-19 medicines during the peak of the pandemic in 2021. The order, issued on November 21, 2025, brings an end to a four-year legal battle that had drawn widespread public attention.
The controversy dates back to April-May 2021, when Delhi was battling one of the worst COVID-19 waves. Reports had surfaced claiming that Gambhir’s office and foundation were distributing antiviral medicines to the public at a time when such drugs were in short supply. Critics alleged hoarding and unauthorised possession, leading the Delhi government’s Drug Control Department to file a complaint under Section 18(c) read with Section 27(b)(ii) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, provisions that prohibit the manufacture, sale, or distribution of drugs without a valid licence.
The accusation implicated Gambhir, his wife Natasha, his mother Seema, his foundation’s CEO, Aprajita Singh, and the Gautam Gambhir Foundation.
The High Court suspended trial court proceedings in September 2021, although the case was still ongoing until the most recent ruling.
On Friday, Justice Neena Bansal Krishna handed the ruling, formally dismissing the criminal case and trial court summons issued against the petitioners. The court ruled that the complaint was not maintainable, affording significant relief to Gambhir and the other defendants.
During the hearings, the Drug Control Department contended that the petitioners acknowledged to distributing drugs without a valid licence, and their only defence was that the medicines were not sold but were given away for free. However, Gambhir’s legal team contended that the distribution was simply humanitarian, with the goal of assisting citizens at a time when hospitals, pharmacies, and the government were struggling to satisfy the tremendous demand for COVID-19 therapy.
Gambhir’s earlier plea sought to invalidate both the summons and the lawsuit, saying that there was no criminal intent and that the dissemination caused no public harm. Although the High Court vacated the initial stay in April 2024, causing Gambhir to submit a new recall petition, the ultimate decision has already concluded the case.
The judgement also clears the Gautam Gambhir Foundation and its trustees, including his wife and mother. Gambhir was in Guwahati with the Indian cricket team, preparing for the second Test against South Africa, when the verdict was announced.
India
