# Kerala High Court cites Mammootty film on cancer treatment costs

2026-09-29T03:51:10+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 2 independent outlets

The Kerala High Court has invoked the 1994 Mammootty film 'Sukrutham' to highlight that the financial burden of cancer treatment remains unchanged three decades later. Justice Harisankar V Menon, in an epilogue to a judgment on the exorbitant pricing of patented cancer medicines, cited a scene where the protagonist refuses treatment to avoid crushing debt. The court called for collective action by the government, the public and stakeholders to ensure financial condition does not decide access to treatment. The observation came in a suo motu proceeding originating from a petition by a breast cancer patient seeking affordable access to a patented drug. The judgment examined the central government's power under the Patent Act, 1970, to intervene when life-saving patented medicines become unaffordable. Justice Menon stressed the need for a balance between affordability and incentives for medicine development.

## Indian Opinion Analysis

Both sources report the same Kerala High Court judgment verbatim, with no divergence in framing. Barandbench.com leads with the legal context of patented medicine pricing, while Mathrubhumi.com leads with the cultural reference to the film. Neither outlet offers government-critical or pro-government slant, both present the judge's call for collective action as a neutral observation. The coverage is uniform straight reporting, reflecting the court's own balanced stance. The case centres on the central government's power under the Patent Act to intervene, and the court disposed of the suo motu proceedings, leaving the government to act.

## Coverage

- barandbench.com (neutral report) <https://www.barandbench.com/news/kerala-high-court-invokes-mammootys-1994-movie-says-plight-of-cancer-patients-remains-unchanged>
  Leads with the legal context of patented drug pricing before the film reference
- english.mathrubhumi.com (neutral report) <https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/kerala/kerala-hc-mammootty-sukrutham-cancer-treatment-cost-kco9sspk>
  Leads with the film reference before the legal context

Tags: Harisankar V Menon, Kerala High Court, Mammootty, Sukrutham
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