Supreme Court PIL demands swift probe and tougher penalties for counterfeit drug networks

A public interest litigation lodged in the Supreme Court by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyaya, and filed through advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey, seeks a comprehensive national strategy to curb the production and sale of counterfeit and adulterated medicines, including vaccines and cough syrups. The petition names the Union ministries of Health and Family Welfare, Law and Justice, Women and Child Development, every state and union territory and the Law Commission as parties, urging them to establish standard operating procedures for search, seizure, sampling and forensic analysis, with investigations concluded within three months and trials finished within a year.

It also demands mandatory digital video recording of all investigative steps and a graded sentencing framework to ensure proportionate punishment for manufacturers and sellers. The filing highlights gaps in the enforcement of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and references recent scandals such as fake cancer drugs supplied to Bengaluru hospitals and counterfeit medicine seizures linked to cough-syrup deaths. By invoking the constitutional right to life and health under Article 21, the petition argues that unchecked fake drug circulation threatens public health nationwide. The Supreme Court’s direction could compel the Centre and states to overhaul existing mechanisms and strengthen penalties against organized counterfeit drug networks.