Fake Drug Unit Operator Sentenced to 7-Year Jail Term
Gwalior: In a strong message against the manufacture and distribution of spurious medicines, a court in Gwalior has sentenced the operator of a fake medicine manufacturing unit to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 8.40 lakh for illegally producing and selling allopathic drugs without a valid licence, in violation of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
The court held that the accused, Sanjay Pathak, was running an unauthorized medicine manufacturing facility under the guise of a food supplement licence, while actually producing allopathic cough syrups and antibiotic medicines. The operation was carried out without obtaining mandatory approvals from drug regulatory authorities.
Evidence placed before the court revealed that the illegal factory had been operational since 2018 in the Old Cantt area of Gwalior. During inspections, authorities recovered large quantities of finished medicines, raw materials, packaging foils, and machinery used for manufacturing tablets, capsules, and syrups, indicating a well-established illicit operation.
The case surfaced following a raid conducted on 30 September 2019, during which drug control officials seized samples of the medicines being produced. Laboratory analysis later confirmed that several antibiotic formulations manufactured at the unit were spurious, as they lacked the prescribed active pharmaceutical ingredients, posing serious risks to patients.
According to a recent media report in Dainik Bhaskar, the court observed that the offence was not a technical lapse but a serious crime endangering public health, noting that consumption of fake medicines can result in treatment failure, prolonged illness, and potentially life-threatening consequences.
The court directed that the fine amount be deposited as per legal procedure and emphasized that stringent punishment was necessary to deter similar offences.
