Blitz Bureau
THE Supreme Court recently set aside the orders of the Allahabad High Court which upheld the decision of a District Magistrate in restricting the trade of ‘aromatic tincture of cardamom’ on grounds that it has a high level of alcohol content and therefore is a prohibited article under the Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940.
A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and PB Varale held that the power to impose a prohibition or declare a drug as banned or restricted for reasons of public interest lies exclusively with the Central Government as provided in Section 26A (Powers of Central Government to regulate, restrict or prohibit manufacture, etc., of drug and cosmetic in public interest) of the D&C Act, 1940.
Referring to Section 26A of the Act, the court observed: “This is the sole statutory mechanism through which a drug, previously permissible, can be effectively taken off the market or subjected to special conditions. The provision ensures that any decision to restrict a drug stem from a central, uniform, and scientifically informed process, guided by expert advice, safety evaluations, and considered policy determinations. This centralized approach is deliberate, aimed at preventing arbitrary or inconsistent local measures that would fragment the national drug regulatory regime.” It held that in the absence of a notification issued under Section 26A by the Central Government, the tincture remains a licensed medical preparation that can be manufactured and sold in accordance with law.
